On Wednesday 5th October, 2016, a Bill for the prohibition of persons from lynching, mob action and extrajudicial executions passed second reading in the Senate. The Bill seeks to prohibit and protect persons from lynching, mob action and extrajudicial executions by offering statutory protection. Sponsor of the Bill Sen. Dino Melaye (APC:Kogi) premised the need for the Bill on sections 33 (1) and 34 of 1999 Constitution (as amended) which guarantees the right to life and dignity of every citizen. He also decried the incessant extrajudicial killings in Nigeria where persons are judged and put to death without lawful trial and blamed the aggravation of the practice on the failure of law enforcement agencies to arrest and apprehend criminals.
Contributing to the debate, Sen. Ovie Omo Agege (LP:Delta) and Sen. Bala Ibn Na’allah (APC:Kebbi) argued against its passage and mentioned that the Bill would amount to duplicity of existing laws, considering that the Penal Code and Criminal Code were operative in the North and South respectively. They rather suggested an amendment to these existing legislations to give effect to the provisions of the Bill. (Note: The Penal Code and the Criminal Code were repealed by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, which is operative all over Nigeria.)
In support of the Bill, Sen. Lanre Tejuosho (APC:Ogun) said Nigeria had been exposed to embarrassment as videos of these killings were available on the cyberspace while Sen. Theodore Orji (PDP:Abia) noted that the security of lives of citizens was the primary duty of government, hence the Bill should be passed to forestall future occurrence. Sen. Godswill Akpabio (PDP:Akwa-Ibom) also opined that it was better to err on the side of surplusage and proposed that the Bill be sent to a committee for further legislative review.
The Bill has been referred to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to report back in 4 four weeks.
