The member representing Oriade State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Kanmi Ajibola, has written the leadership of the National Assembly demanding that death penalty be made a punishment for corruption.

Ajibola, in his five-page letter addressed to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, copies of which were obtained in Osogbo on Friday, said the level of corruption in the country has made it necessary to introduce capital punishment into Nigeria’s anti-graft laws.

The former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ilesa Branch, who lamented the huge resources the country has lost to corruption, said if such monies had been properly utilised, Nigeria would not be struggling with infrastructure deficit.

Citing Sections 4(1) and (3) of the Constitution, the lawyer said it was within the purview of the National Assembly to make laws that would help the country halt corrupt practices among its citizens.

He declared that the anti-corruption laws and Acts in their existing forms in Nigeria are not result-oriented, hence the need for the introduction of capital punishment.

The letter partly read, “As a human rights activist, I should not be thinking of a capital punishment to curb or drastically minimise corruption in Nigeria, but for the fact that the acts of the few leaders that are corrupt are leading to the death of their innocent subjects, I think this is the only way and the hard way.

“It is an axiomatic fact that f this stealing spree continually persists unchecked, the country will ultimately end up in an untimely grave. To prevent the sudden and untimely death of Nigeria, the 1999 Constitution has empowered the National Assembly with this responsibility to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation.

“At this very moment, before corruption kills Nigeria, it is desirable that Nigeria moves faster to kill corruption. The incumbent leadership of the National Assembly can be the Moses and Musa of the present Nigerian generation by removing the country out of death trap of corruption and its killing venom.

“Due to the non-availability of effective laws to checkmate corruption the way it should be properly checked, there are loss of peace, order, good governance and good government in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“That Nigeria may continue to live, there is a compelling need for the prevailing public corruption to be curbed and controlled by capital punishment in our laws.

“Within the thirty days of the receipt of this letter, I plead with the National Assembly to perform this public duty to save Nigeria by introducing penalty clause of capital punishment into our Anti-Corruption Laws and Acts,” he added. (Courtesy, excluding headline, The PUNCH)

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