Former UN Human Rights Adviser, Professor Uche Emelonye, has warned that the Senate’s plan to impose the death penalty for kidnapping is “moving in the wrong direction”, insisting that Nigeria should prioritise prevention over harsher punishment.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Wednesday, Emelonye said: “The death penalty introduction into criminal punishment in Nigeria is an afterthought. It happens when the kidnapping has happened. But we should look at what happens before the kidnapping happens.”
He argued that limited resources should be directed first to preventing kidnappings rather than escalating punishments.
“There should be a sequence. The first in the sequence should be preventive and not punitive,” he said.
Emelonye insisted that the Senate was focusing on the wrong solution.
“The Senate is legislating to impose death penalty on kidnapping. My school of thought is that the Senate should be preoccupied with legislating preventive measures in the interim. Ultimately, punishment will come,”he said.
He noted that Nigeria had already toughened penalties recently.“The Ninth Senate moved kidnapping from 10-year imprisonment to life imprisonment in 2020. The question is: are we safer now between 2020 and 2025? Is kidnapping reducing? By introducing life sentence without addressing the preventive aspects, Nigeria is not safer,” he said.
“What the Senate is trying to do again is to raise the threshold from life imprisonment to death penalty. My proposition is we are moving in the wrong direction. The right direction is, first and foremost, to address the preventive measures and the enablers of this crime,” he added.
Responding to public support for the death penalty, Emelonye rejected claims that he was “out of touch.”
“Somebody wrote that this is a confused professor who does not understand the reality in Nigeria. But that is not true. The point I’m making is that it is not the severity of punishment, it is the preventive nature of the punishment,”he said.
“Criminals everywhere in the world are deterred more by the likelihood of being caught than the likelihood of being punished. It’s been proven. Nigeria cannot export the theory that works in China or the US because our security architecture is weakened,” he added.
He warned that Nigeria already has capital punishment for murder and armed robbery, yet it has not reduced those crimes.
“Death penalty is in our laws on robbery and murder. The last execution was in 2016 by Governor Adams Oshiomhole. If it works, why are other governors not signing it? If it works, is his state safer than other states?”
Emelonye said raising the penalty again will only swell death row.
“We have nearly 4,000 death row inmates without execution. Introducing death penalty will only add more people to death row without making our streets safer,” he said.
Emelonye’s position is shaped partly by personal tragedy.
“About three years ago, the same day I landed in Nigeria, my brother was kidnapped. His police orderly was shot and disarmed,”he said.
He recalled being forced to negotiate with the kidnappers himself.
“It became my responsibility to make contact, negotiate ransom, and deliver it. I resonate with every Nigerian who has passed through this. What was clear in my mind was not how to punish these people. It is ‘never again’,”he said.
“My approach is never again, not necessarily punishment.”
When asked what should happen to kidnappers who kill, Emelonye replied:
“We already have it in the law. That is murder, and there is death penalty on murder. Why is the Senate reinventing the wheel?”
He rejected the argument that execution is a stronger deterrent.
“If life imprisonment has not worked in the last five years, escalating it to death penalty will not make any difference when we are not doing what we need to do to prevent,” he said.
Emelonye welcomed some new security measures.
“I commend the efforts to withdraw policemen from individuals and put them back into the pool to serve the country. But that only gives a quantitative advantage. We need beyond numbers — we need the quality and mandate of the policemen,” he said.
He insisted that a security emergency must be backed by legal and operational reforms.
“A state of emergency verbally does not suffice. There should be additional actions, formally communicated to the National Assembly,” he said.
He also explained that human rights may need temporary limitation.
“Yes, the government can limit rights. It must be by Act of National Assembly, time-bound, non-discriminatory and proportionate,” he said.
“For instance, surveillance relates to the right to privacy. It is wrong today to spy on someone’s call. But if this emergency is lifted and this right is declared to be limited, security organs can do the needful.”
Summarising his recommendations, Emelonye said:
“We already have life imprisonment on kidnapping. Nigeria has adopted a moratorium on executions for nine years. Next year will make it ten.”
He listed the three critical enablers of kidnapping that must be addressed:
“First is the use of phone calls for kidnapping — the recklessness is unacceptable.
Second is the proliferation of arms — the number of illegal arms can compete with those held by authorities.
“Third is the huge number of out-of-school children; these kids today will be criminals tomorrow.”
He concluded:
“These are what the country should bear in mind as we deal with penalty.”
Boluwatife Enome
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