Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip, has stated that he supports the death penalty for those who embezzle N1 trillion or more in public monies. However, he cautions that people who steal one million or one billion shouldn’t be put to death.
Ndume said this on Tuesday when speaking about measures to dissuade people from using drugs during an appearance on Channels TV’s “Politics Today.”
Ndume underlined that the general public in Nigeria is mostly responsible for corruption, with politicians frequently using stolen money to curry favour and secure their political careers.
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He maintained that embezzling one trillion naira should carry the death penalty, but stealing smaller amounts, like one million or one billion naira, shouldn’t.
Ndume stated, “If you compare us, politicians, to all the corruption, it is very small. Our corruption is people-driven. If you steal it, you will go and share it with the people. If you don’t, you are not coming back for four years. There is no reason for stealing.
“I have been to the National Assembly, I can’t say because we are on TV now and not telling the truth. If the death penalty is supposed to be included in corruption, I will support it but you don’t go and kill someone that stole one million or one billion, no. But someone who steals one trillion of government money should be killed.
“The death penalty is the best deterrent for those being caught for drugs. If you do drugs, you are killing people.
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“That means you have destroyed the lives of so many people and killed so many people,” he added.
Remember that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024, which imposes the death penalty on anyone found guilty of trafficking in heavy drugs and narcotics, was just enacted by the Senate? Parallel Facts reported on this development.
Legal professionals and civil society organisations have criticised this legislative action, claiming it is ineffective in stopping drug trafficking. Rather, they argue that more effective approaches would include border security and poverty alleviation.
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