June 22
NIGERIA:
Evans may get death penalty or life imprisonment as Ambode signs bill to law
The Lagos state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has signed into law, the state
kidnapping prohibition bill, 2016 which prescribes Life Imprisonment or death
penalty for the offence of Kidnapping and forceful extortion in Lagos State,
meaning that the recently arrested kidnap kingpin, Chukwudubem Onwuamadike,
a.k.a. Evans may get a life imprisonment or death penalty sentence.
The law provides for death penalty for kidnappers whose victims die in their
custody, and life imprisonment for the act of kidnapping.
The Lagos State House of Assembly passed the bill on January 5.
The governor said that the law was enacted to address key issues bordering on
security.
He said that kidnapping had become a major threat to the safety of residents
and, therefore, required decisive action by the government.
"This law imposes a penalty of life imprisonment for kidnapping for ransom.
"The law stipulates that, where a victim dies in the course of kidnapping, the
suspect is liable on conviction to death.
"Security is of utmost importance to our administration, and we are confident
that this law will serve as a deterrent to anybody who may desire to engage in
this wicked act within the boundaries of Lagos State.
"Our justice system will be required to execute this law in absolute and make
sure that any criminal caught faces the full wrath of the law," he said.
Recall that Evans himself had advised kidnappers or intending ones to desist
from the act, saying it does not pay any longer.
He had said that if he can be caught, then nobody can escape the police being
that the force has improved greatly in her anti-crime fight.
Evans, a billionaire kidnap kingpin had successfully coordinated and
masterminded several high profile kidnappings and armed robberies within Lagos,
Anambra and Enugu States.
According to him, "My advise to them is that as they are watching me standing
here with policemen, they should stop everything about that, it doesn't pay."
He gave the advise to other kidnappers while leading police operatives to 2
houses in Ejigbo and Igando areas of Lagos state where he keeps his victims
until huge ransoms are paid.
According to him, he keeps most of his victims in the 2 houses for months. He
said he even pays up to 700,000 Naira, yearly for a 3 bedroom flat ???ells'
where the victims are kept. Upon departure from Igando area Evans had opined,
"The Nigeria Police is not what it is used to be. They are far more advanced
than they were. If they could arrest me, there is no criminal they can't
arrest."
(source: nigeriatoday.ng)
EGYPT:
Rights groups urge Egypt's Sisi to spare 6 men on death row
Human rights groups urged Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to intervene
by a Thursday deadline to commute the death sentences of 6 men convicted of
killing a policeman, saying they had been kidnapped and tortured into
confessing the crime.
The 6 have been convicted of murdering Sergeant Abdallah al-Motweli, who
guarded the house of a judge who helped to sentence Egypt's former president
Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood to 20 years in prison.
Sisi, who in 2013 headed the military that ousted Mursi after mass protests
against his rule, has until Thursday to commute the death sentence of the 6.
Their sentence can no longer be appealed after Egypt's top court this month
upheld their conviction.
"The most important recommendation is protecting the 6 young men's right to
life, which only the president can currently do through commuting the
sentences," the Geneva-based Committee for Justice (CFJ) said on Wednesday.
In a detailed 30-page report based on a review of court records and interviews
with their families and lawyers, the CFJ highlighted what it said were several
violations faced by the defendants, who have come to be known as the "Mansoura
6", a reference to the Nile Delta city where they were tried.
The report focused on several violations: the defendants were forcibly
disappeared, not legally arrested, and were tortured into confessing. Their
confessions were taped and aired by the police before prosecutors questioned
them, the report also said, in violation of Egypt's penal code.
Egyptian authorities do not comment on cases after a court has issued a
verdict. The Interior Ministry denies all allegations of abuse.
The Mansoura 6 were kept in illegal detention centers, denied access to
lawyers, and were kept in inhumane conditions, CFJ's report also said. Court
records seen by Reuters show the judge based his verdict on police
investigations that cite "secret" sources which officers refused to reveal in
court.
Amnesty International also urged Sisi to intervene to prevent the execution of
the 6 men.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. No
one should be deprived of their right to life, no matter how horrific the
crimes they have been accused of are," said Najia Bounaim, Amnesty's North
Africa Campaigns Director.
"Time is running out to save these men's lives, they can be executed at any
time. The Egyptian authorities must immediately halt these executions."
(source: Reuters)
PAKISTAN:
2 murder accused get death penalty
Additional District and Sessions Judge Amjad Ali Bajwa Wednesday awarded death
sentence to two murder accused. According to the prosecution, accused Fahad
Ghumman and Gulfam Masih had killed Shahid Butt and Amir Bashir over a property
dispute on Kutchery Road in the limits of Kotwali police. The court delivered
the verdict in the district jail Sialkot. The judge also ordered the convicts
to pay Rs 200,000 each to heirs of the dead, failing which the both would be
imprisoned for 6 months on 2 counts.
(source: thenews.com.pk)
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