Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State wants death penalty for kidnappers and is set to forward a bill to the effect to the Bayelsa State House of Assembly for passage into law.
Making this known during the swearing in ceremony of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Agbere Communal Crisis held at the Government House, Yenagoa, the governor disclosed that he would not hesitate to sign the death warrant of kidnappers or those attempting to commit the crime, as government would no longer condone acts of lawlessness.
“We have made it very clear that wherever there is any breach of the peace and breakdown of law and order, this government will use all its resources and authority to ensure that the right thing is done and people are brought to book,” Dickson warned.
He threatened that any traditional ruler caught aiding and abetting kidnapping and other related vices would be dealt with in accordance with the law, as the bill became imperative in order to forestall disruption of government’s developmental projects.
He thereby urged youths to take advantage of government’s policies and programmes targeted at building their capacity.
“Let me also use this occasion to sound a clear note of warning in this state; we thought we were through with kidnappings in this state but just one incident of kidnapping is bad enough for us,” he said.
“We have a situation where we have an ambitious programme of infrastructural turnaround of the state because there is work going on in every community of the state and it will be so for quite some time. Therefore, we do not want to tolerate even one case of kidnapping of anybody.
“We are aware that if this trend is not checked, those who do not wish this state well will easily use that to foment crisis, scare investors, give our state a continuous bad name and stall our development.”
However, he commended law-abiding youths of the state, noting that reports reaching government indicated that there have been no cases of disruption of ongoing projects across the state.
Delivering the four-point term of reference, he charged the Commission of Inquiry to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the Agbere communal crisis, and identify the principal actors and their sponsors.
He also asked the commission to determine the extent of the damage to property and loss of human lives as well as make necessary recommendations and measures to ensure sanity and normalcy.
The Commission will be chaired by Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro while Mr. Diepreye Omubo is the secretary. Other members are, Barr. Henry Apeli, Mr. Emienbo Assayomo and Mr. Brown Ekwuoba.
Responding, Chairman of the Commission, Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro assured that it would discharge its duties satisfactorily and to the best of its ability without fear or favour
