He also signed the Lagos State Sports Commission and Lagos State Sports Trust Fund into law.
Speaking shortly after the ceremony at
the Lagos House Alausa, Ikeja, Ambode said the prescribed death for
kidnappers in whose custody victims died and life jail for those who
kidnapped for ransom.
He said the spate of kidnapping had got
to a level that required decisive action from government, hence the need
for the law to send serious message to perpetrators of such heinous
crime.
The government, he said, was putting in
place measures particularly in schools and other vulnerable targets, to
prevent kidnapping and other security breaches.
The governor said: “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.
“Why we use this law to address the
challenge and punish the criminals, we are also putting in place
appropriate measures particularly in our schools and other vulnerable
targets to prevent security breaches and it is important that we ensure
that everything we do in respect of this anti-kidnapping law is in good
faith and good spirit to eradicate the issue of kidnapping once and for
all in the state.”
The justice system, Ambode said, would be activated to execute the anti-kidnapping law.
He explained that the Sport Commission
Law would give legal backing to the formulation and implementation of
sport policies; the Sport Trust Fund will enable government to raise
funds for the development of sporting facilities and activities.
“This fund will provide a platform where
the State Government can enter into partnership with the private sector
to finance sports infrastructure, tournaments and programmes which will
in turn create employment and generate revenue for the state.”
According to him, as provided for in the
law, a Board of trustees, comprising stakeholders in the sports
community will be inaugurated for the Trust Fund. With the law, he said
the government was restating its commitment to scale up sports
development and make the state the hub of sports in Nigeria.
House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru
Obasa said Ambode’s endorsement of the bills showed the commitment of
the state government to security of citizens and sports development.
Obasa, represented by the Majority
leader Sanai Agunbiade, said the Anti-Kidnapping Law was
all-encompassing prescribes punishment for the actors, the
collaborators, the abetters and those who saw the kidnapping being
perpetrated and did nothing about it.
The law, he said, was the government’s
response to the spate of kidnapping in the state, adding that its
expansive provisions would ensure the eradication of the menace.
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