By Tola Gbadamosi & Bamidele Kolawole

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Mixed reactions have trailed the Senate’s approval of the death penalty as punishment for the manufacturing, trafficking, dealing in, or delivery of drugs by any means in the country.

Some argued that Nigerian Governors no longer sign death warrants for crime offenders condemned by the competent court of law, while others raised concerns about its effectiveness and ethical implications.

Over the years, Nigeria had witnessed the devastating effects of drug abuse on individuals and communities, with significant roles being played by drug peddlers and barons in perpetuating this cycle of destruction.

The rate of drug abuse nowadays, especially among the youths of between 14 to 40 years, is alarming making the future to be bleak.

The Hope gathered that drug abuse has destroyed a larger percentage of youths in Nigeria, and the ugly situation calls for drastic measures to address the menace.

Recently, the Nigeria’s Senate approved the death penalty as punishment for the importation of hard drugs into the country. It also includes manufacturing, trafficking, dealing in, or delivery of drugs by any means.

In the new bill as passed by the Senate, the drugs specifically mentioned are cocaine and heroin, among others.

The bill is the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The maximum punishment in the existing law for offenders is life imprisonment.

However, during the consideration of the report on the bill for passage recently, the Senate Whip Sen. Ali Ndume, recommended that the penalty be “toughened” to the death penalty.

The penalty for drug importation or dealership is captured in Section 11 of the existing law, but this has now been increased to a death sentence.

Reacting to the new bill, some stakeholders including security experts and the legal practitioners expressed mixed feelings to the death penalty as punitive measure.

A security expert based in Abuja, Adeshina Kehinde, said: “I support the idea that they should go for execution because it has destroyed 80 per cent of Nigerian youths. Everywhere is full of drugs, and the crime rate is alarming. Between 18 and 35 years of age, you will hardly see them going free. If you search them you must see drug on them.

 “If you don’t see cocaine, you will see tramadol, tutolyn and other drugs. There is a particular one they call ‘kolos’. One of the boys working under me used it and he died that same day. I dismissed almost seven over the same offence. One thing I have learnt about Nigerians is that when you kill one person because of one offence, others will run away from it.

“So, I strongly support that death penalty because it is a deterrent. Even with the fact that we are saying the country is difficult, nobody wants to die. If they get concrete evidence and it is proved beyond reasonable doubts, I support that death sentence. Some of the big people in the society are also involved in it”, the security expert stressed.

Also, a retired Colonel, Sunny Okosun, who called on some members of the political class to also purge themselves of all forms of drug related activities, believed that Nigerians can still have a society free of illicit drugs.

“I can tell you I don’t know of any governor that is still signing death warrants. As a matter of personal policy, I’m against drug trafficking. I don’t like it.

“In the countries that we copied, the death penalty is not the consequence. In the East, the Arab world, they have it as death penalty. However, if we say we want to impose that because drug can ruin a generation of children, fine.

“When I was serving, there was a law then that applied to people who committed armed robbery. If they were found guilty would be executed by the firing squad, but did that stop armed robbery. It didn’t stop armed robbery.

“Rather, there should be much more placating and palliating ways of handling this issue. I don’t pretend to have the solution but there must be other ways. So, let it be publicly discussed.

“It is good to have a drug free society, it will be good for the country. I remembered when we were young officers, there was Buhari/Idiagbon government. They imposed a death penalty on anybody who was involved in drug trafficking. Three Nigerians were executed and as soon as they were executed Nigeria ceased to be a hub for drug, nobody came near it. It was punitive but also deterrent. That’s the way I see it”, he added.

On his part, a legal practitioner, Olubunmi Akinseye, believed that the death penalty was necessary given the immense harm caused by drug trafficking.

He, however, acknowledged the difficulties in implementing it fairly and judiciously.

Akinseye concluded that while the death penalty might seem like a fitting punishment for drug peddlers and barons, the challenges and ethical concerns surrounding its implementation were significant.

He believed that a more holistic approach was needed, one that will address the underlying issues driving drug trafficking while ensuring fair treatment for those accused of such crimes.

Another legal practitioner, Jerry Adeyogbe, explained that there was a growing reluctance among governors to sign death warrants.

According to him, many cited concerns about the fairness of trials and the possibility of executing innocent people.

He believed that the death penalty posed significant challenges, saying that ensuring fair trials and avoiding wrongful convictions were paramount.

” There were also questions about whether the death penalty truly deterred drug trafficking or if it merely punished the symptom without addressing the root causes” he said.

Recall that during the Senate consideration of the report on the bill for passage, Sen. Ndume, recommended that the penalty should be changed to the death sentence, saying “this is the standard worldwide. We have to do this to address this drug problem that has seriously affected our youth.

“It should be toughened beyond life imprisonment. It should be the death sentence, either by hanging or any other way.”

But some senators, including a former governor of Edo State, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, loudly protested against the decision of the Senate.