The senate has approved the bill on third reading that would punish drug traffickers with the death penalty.

Following Tahir Monguno, the senator from Borno North, submitting a report on behalf of the joint committees on drugs and narcotics and the judiciary, the bill was passed by the upper legislative chamber on Thursday.

Monguno stated that the nation’s battle on drugs needs to be strengthened while he was presenting the report.

After the report was presented, the senate went into the “committee of the whole” to consider clauses of the bill where some senators disagreed with the death sentence.

When put to a voice vote, Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, gave it to the “ayes”.

Thereafter, Adams Oshiomhole, a senator representing Edo north, said the senate should be careful with any law that deals with life.

“Anything that deals with life, we should be careful,” Oshiomhole said.

Responding, Jibrin said Oshiomhole should have called for a divide.

“I’m sorry my former national chairman… you should have called for a divide, it is your right, but we have passed it,” the deputy senate president said.

Also, Akpan Ekong, senator representing Akwa Ibom south, tried to come under “personal explanation” to disapprove of the provision, but Jibrin ruled him out of order.

The bill, which originated from the house of representatives, will be sent to the president for assent if there are no differences between the two chambers of the national assembly.

If there are differences, the two chambers will set up a conference committee to harmonise the grey areas before it is sent for assent.

In recent times, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has been making substantial seizures of substances ranging from cannabis to opioids from suspected traffickers.

The House of Representatives on Thursday ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop enforcing the cybercrime levy in accordance with the terms of the cybercrime Act.

This came after the PDP Rivers Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda’s urgently important proposal was adopted.

According to Chinda, the Cybercrime Act’s section 44 (2a) identified the following entities as required to pay the fees: stock exchanges, insurance firms, banks and other financial institutions, GSM and telecom businesses, and Internet providers.

The lawmaker explained that the circular from the CBN has raised apprehension across Nigeria, stressing that it has given the impression that the levy is to be paid by Nigerians in an era when they are still battling with an increase in the price of petroleum products, among others.

The House subsequently asked the apex bank to withdraw its earlier circular on implementing the levy immediately and issue another circular in line with the provisions of the Act.

More to come…

A Federal High Court located in Abuja has granted N100 million in bail to Hadi Sirika, a former Minister of Aviation, along with two other individuals and his daughter.

They are on trial for allegedly defrauding the N2.7 billion. The court orders them to submit two further sureties, both of whom must have acquired properties in Abuja.

The court ruled that the sureties had to be law-abiding citizens as well. A means affidavit must be deposed to by the sureties.

The accused were also prohibited by the court from leaving the country without authorization.

Justice Oriji ordered that the defendants should be remanded in prison custody if they failed to meet their bail conditions.

The sureties must own landed properties within the FCT with valid titles. The trial will commence on the 10th, 11th and 20th of June.

More to come…