By Alex Olise
The Oluwo of Iwo HRM Oba Abdul-Rasheed Adewale Akanbi has called for the death penalty for anyone corrupt politicians, kidnappers and rapists in Nigeria.
He made the call at the 27th Annual Lecture/Awards of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN), which held at the Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday.
He said the maximum penalty must be enforced to put a stop to the growing incidences of crime and criminality, especially kidnapping.
Oluwo, who is the Royal Father of the Day at the event said if the criminals see the government strictly enforce the death penalty, it will send a very strong signal to the bad elements masterminding the crimes.
He said: “I know many people may want to criticise me like a king, but if the truth must be told, we need maximum penalties to put some of the crimes happening in our society today in check. I say this with all sense of responsibility because I know that nobody, not even the criminal wants to die. So if we make an example of one or two across the country, everyone will sit up and we will drive criminals away.”
He said the law may be reviewed anytime the society is sanitized, adding that we should follow the example of the western world which visited capital punishment on criminals in what was known as “Wild Wild West”, and review the punitive law once criminals have been chased away from the polity and sanity restored.
“Make no pretense, we are not a sane nation, and things have continued to go from bad to worse because we continue to condone criminality. Look at China, they have the death penalty for corrupt public officials, so even aspiring for public office becomes an assignment that requires a high sense of moral probity. We need to get to this level if we must sanitize our society.”
The Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu urged society to partner the police in arresting crime.
Speaking on the theme: Proliferation of arms: a threat to democracy, Adamu, who was represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Ahmed Iliyasu said only full cooperation of members of the society can help arrest the growing menace of crime and being down the incidences of violence and insecurity in the society.
More follows.