On Thursday, the Senate amended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act to impose life imprisonment for individuals convicted of storing, transporting, or concealing hard drugs and other illegal substances.
The amendment was approved during plenary, presided over by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, after the majority of senators expressed their support.
This change followed the recommendation of the conference committee from both chambers of the National Assembly regarding Section 11 of the NDLEA Act.
Earlier, the House of Representatives had passed an amendment to the NDLEA law calling for life imprisonment for drug traffickers, while the Senate’s version originally proposed the death penalty for such offenders.
As a result, the two chambers established a conference committee to reconcile their different versions of the bill.
During the plenary, Senator Tahir Monguno, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, informed his colleagues that the Senate would adopt the House’s amendment, which prescribes life imprisonment for drug traffickers.
Monguno, who chairs the conference committee, explained that if the National Assembly approved the death penalty, over 900 individuals currently imprisoned on drug-related charges would face execution.
He urged his colleagues to back the resolution aimed at mitigating the impact of drug consumption and trafficking in the country.
Following his presentation, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin called for a vote, and the majority of senators supported the resolution through a voice vote.
With the amendment, the section now reads, “Anybody who is unlawfully involved in the storage, custody, movement, carriage or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and who, while so involved, is armed with any offensive weapon or is disguised in any way, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act, and liable on conviction to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
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