Terrorists to face death penalty – Senate

The Senate had on Wednesday recommended a capital punishment for terrorists in the country.

This came following a report on “a Bill for an Act to amend the Terrorism (prevention) Act, 2012,” brought forward by its Conference Committee during a plenary session. The Senate had as a result, resolved that there was no better way to punish terrorists than death.

All the senators unanimously agreed that anybody or group of persons linked to any acts ofterrorism in the country would not be spared, stressing that any Nigeria directly or indirectly and who “willingly assist, facilitate, organise or direct the activities of persons or organisations engaged in the acts of terrorism are liable to be convicted to life imprisonment.”

It would be recalled that the Terrorism (prevention) Act 2011 (amendment) Bill, 2012 was passed by the Senate on October 17, 2012 and in the House of Representatives on October 11, 2012. However, after the development, some differences were noticed in the two versions of the Bill, prompting it to be re-submitted where the Conference Committee was constituted, comprising both chambers on October, 2012 to reconcile the areas of differences, which appeared in six clauses of the Bill.

New amendments to Section 17 of the Terrorism Act, gave a clear distinction between “an act of terrorism” and “an act of conspiracy.”

A new provision (section 1A) dealing with national co-ordinating bodies in counter terrorism designates specific institutions and vest specific powers and functions.

In line with the new amendments, the Office of the National Security Adviser , ONSA, shall be the co-coordinating body for all security and enforcement agencies including the Attorney General of the Federation ,AGF, under the Terrorism Act.

The Conference Committee added a new section (30) under clause 14 to deal with detention of conveyance. Accordingly, any person who without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the requirement of a detention order or intentionally obstructs or hinders any person acting in accordance to detention order shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N5,000,000 or imprisonment for not less than five years.

Amendments of Section 26-29 of the prior Terrorist Act produced a new Section 28 which allows relevant law enforcement or security officials to detain suspected terrorist for a period not exceeding forty-eight hours without having access to any person.

The bill, gives law enforcers greater powers to detain and prosecute suspects and gave judges more guidance on handing down punishments.

It also gives the police and security forces powers to seal off a property or vehicle without a search warrant.