A former United Nations human rights envoy, Prof. Uchenna Emelonye, has opposed National Assembly’s proposal to introduce death penalty for kidnapping through an amendment to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, warning that the move would neither deter criminals nor make Nigerians safer.
In an open letter addressed to the President of the Senate and all senators, and later reinforced in a press briefing, Emelonye argued that Nigeria’s worsening kidnapping crisis was driven by deep institutional failures rather than gaps in the law, insisting that expanding capital punishment amounted to a symbolic response that misdiagnosed the real problem.
Emelonyen is a former United Nations Senior Human Rights and Rule of Law Adviser with over two decades of global experience across more than 22 conflict and post-conflict countries.
He condemned kidnapping and has “no sympathy whatsoever for criminality,” stressing that his interven-tion was motivated solely by public interest and the search for evidence-based solutions that genuinely enhanced public safety.
“I am persuaded, after careful consideration of Nigeria’s security realities and historical experience, that introducing kidnapping into the Terrorism Act and elevating punishment to death will not reduce kidnapping, will not deter offenders, and will not make Nigerians safer,” he said.
Drawing from personal experience, Emelonye disclosed that his elder brother was kidnapped after his police orderly was shot and disarmed, forcing him to negotiate directly with the kidnappers and deliver ransom at their hideouts.
According to him, this personal experience, combined with his professional exposure, reinforced his conviction that harsh penalties without effective enforcement could not prevent crime.
The former UN adviser faulted the assumption that kidnapping persisted due to insufficient punishment, noting that Nigeria already has extensive death penalty provisions for kidnapping across federal and state laws.
