Gov Amaechi’s Death Penalty

Comfort Obi

The Rivers State House of Assembly, on Monday, March 2, passed the bill endorsing death penalty for kidnappers in the state. In doing that, it upheld the strong sugestion of the governor, His Excellency, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Justifying the action of the House, the Speaker, Harry Tonye explained. “A lot of people have been kidnapped and till today, we have not seen them. Some of them have been confirmed dead. So, a situation where the victim loses his life is a very serious case and can go for capital punishment.”
Thousands of people, especially those who have been victims of kidnappers, particularly those who have, in the process, lost beloved ones, have nothing but commendation for Amaechi and the Rivers State House of Assembly. Taken on by Amnesty International on an official visit to London penultimate week, Amaechi insisted that those who wear the shoe know where it pinches them. It was the same thing he told the advocates of a lesser punishment back home in Nigeria. In simple words, the governor told them that because they have not been victims of kidnappers, they don’t seem to understand the gravity of the crime. Put in another way, the governor was telling them, “if you love the nose of a dog so much, cut it and eat.” Since Amaechi’s bill to the House, and his staunch defence of his action, other state governments have followed suit – Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom. They should. And nobody should blame them.
Those against death penalty remind us that life is sacred. That nobody has the right to take anybody’s life. That it is God’s prerogative. I agree. Any human life taken, no matter how terrible that person was, diminishes us as human beings. As a very young reporter, I covered the arrest, trial, and execution of the Benin-based notorious armed robber, Lawrence Anini and other members of his devilish gang, which included a serving police officer. After watching their execution, I threw up for days, and for months did not eat beef. I was haunted for months more, and came to the conclusion that the death penalty is unGodly. But there are too many devilish people around who force one to, atimes ask: God, where are you? Like the kidnappers in the Niger Delta and elsewhere.
They have broken all the laws of God and more. They have desecrated human life. They have cheapened it. And they have no fear of God. They have, in their cursed urge for money, committed unprecedented abomination. Think of the children they have kidnapped and murdered. One of the stories Amaechi told Amnesty International in London was that of an 11-year-old girl, being driven to school with her younger brother by their mother. They were accosted by kidnappers. As they made to abduct the little boy, his 11-year-old sister held unto him, asking them not to abduct his brother. They shot her dead, and still kidnapped the brother. My prayers in the days that followed: May these people never have a child to call them father. In Delta State, 82-year-old Pa Jacob Odivwri Ediesa was kidnapped in his house while he was asleep. After his abductors asked the children to send to them recharge cards worth N20,000 to enable them communicate with their father, they killed him. My prayer: May they never grow old. As I write this, the 90 year old mother of Ernest Ebi, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has been in the custody of her kidnappers for 13 days and counting. What if she dies in their hands. What type of heartlessness is this? What kind of money would push one into this cruelty? In the past two months or so, three priests have been kidnapped – Two Roman Catholic Rev. Frs. in Rivers State, and one Anglican priest in Ihiala, Anambra State. What are these people doing with servants of God? They have desecrated the land. Even the wives of traditional rulers are not spared. In Bayelsa State, the wife of HRM, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, the Amanyanabo of Nembe, was kidnapped. In recent times, nothing has shaken Nigerians as much as this brazen kidnapping of innocent citizens. And the result has been untold agony.
It started gradually with the kidnapping of foreigners who are working in the volatile Niger Delta. The excuse then was that it was the handiwork of militants who are protesting the criminal neglect of the Niger Delta region. Initially, it was justified in some quarters. But a big lie has been put to their intentions. The aim is defeated. Far from drawing attention to the neglect of the Niger Delta, it has brought the region shame. Investors have left the area in droves. And so have contractors who had already collected money to execute contracts in the region. The economy is at an all-time low in the Niger Delta. The hospitality business is dead. And so is night life. The markets are empty, and so are shops. The region is the ultimate loser. Very soon, churches will be empty. In the area, especially in Rivers State, life is a bore. The question is: Do these people really want the development of the zone? Nobody can control the situation. Not even the military. Indeed, the strong insinuation is that some high- profile individuals, including some elements in the military, connive with these devils. Those close to the Daukoru family say that one of the shocks Mrs Daukoru had on the night she was kidnapped was that his kidnappers drove past four military checkpoints, each of which stopped them, saw her sandwiched between four young men carrying guns, and still waved them on, after exchanging what sounded like "slangs" with her kidnappers! How does one explain that? The so-called Elders in the region are of no help. Perhaps, it is okay by them so they can remain relevant! Now, it has spread to the South east, and is threatening to also over-run the region. People are helpless.
Considering the pains, grief, sorrow, the trauma these have caused innocent people, it is difficult not to applaud the death penalty. But I push for a rethink. Perhaps, a life sentence with hard labour will be better than the death penalty. You know why?
The dead feel no pain or shame. Once one is dead, one is dead. But a life jail term, especially, with hard labour? I vote for it. They will stay there, stew in their wickedness, haunted by the blood and ghost of the innocent, die unmourned, and buried in unmarked graves. This, to me, seems to be the ultimate punishment.