Idris: Death Penalty for Kidnappers Consistent with Nigerian Laws

•Insists $5.1billion health cooperation with US will save lives

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has shrugged off opposition by Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to the proposed death penalty for kidnappers and bandits, saying the punishment is consistent with Nigerian laws.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated the position yesterday in Abuja at the government’s end-of-year press conference.

Idris insisted that the federal government would act strictly within its laws and would not do anything that negated the laws of the country.

He said, “The Nigerian government will not do anything that is not consistent with the laws of the nation. If there is a need to adapt or to modify these laws, we have the National Assembly to consult and to take them so that we can have a response, but for now it is important to say that Nigeria as a sovereign country has its laws and is being governed by these laws and all the operators, including the security agencies are acting within the ambit, within the parameters of those laws.”

The minister said the new national counterterrorism doctrine, established this year, was anchored on four critical pillars: unified command, intelligence, community stability, and counterinsurgency.

He stressed, “Let me be clear about what this means: that henceforth, any armed group that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, or terrorises our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist organisation. The era of ambiguous nomenclature is over!”

Idris also spoke on the conversation around human rights violations with regard to terrorists.

He asserted that he could not see human rights where somebody, for example, came into a room and randomly started shooting at people.

According to Idris, “I don’t know how human rights will stop you first. First, I think it is to defend yourself and Nigeria has to defend itself as a country, observing the highest standards of procedure. All our Armed Forces are trained, they have no collaboration with the international partners and they are following strict protocols of engagement with terrorists or whoever they are engaging with.

“And I think that we must commend the Nigerian security agencies for observing that but where there are specific issues, I want to believe that the security agencies, the high command of security agencies, will address those issues.

“But for now, I know that they are trained, Nigerian security agencies are well trained, they are also observing strict protocols of engagement.

“If, indeed, there are areas of complaints or disagreements about how they engage, I want to believe that this will be taken up in specific terms and dealt with appropriately.”

The minister also stated that the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a $5.1billion bilateral health cooperation with the US government, which would provide $2.1billion in grant funding, while Nigeria commits $3 billion, would save lives and disprove the notion that America had turned its back on Nigeria.

He reiterated that the recent diplomatic spat with the United States had also been resolved through firm, respectful engagement, culminating in a strengthened partnership.

Idris described the proposed N58.18 trillion 2026 budget presented by President Bola Tinubu as a blueprint for security and prosperity. He stated that the N26.08 billion allocated to infrastructure was the largest ever capital expenditure for roads, rail, power and ports, while the allocation of N5.41 trillion – the single biggest allocation to defence and security – was a direct investment in protecting lives, property, and prosperity through modern equipment for the armed forces, a new national intelligence architecture, and a secure digital border surveillance system.