Nigeria Content Online

The Senate,
yesterday, overwhelmingly supported a bill seeking to provide measures
to combat terrorism in Nigeria, as the bill passed its second reading.
The bill, sent by the Presidency, was first read in the Senate on
December 10 last year. It has also passed the second reading stage in
the House of Representatives.

In his lead debate, the Senate leader, Teslim Folarin, said the bill will be the first anti-terrorism law in the country.

“It is important to
note that Nigeria does not have a comprehensive anti-terrorism law and,
for that reason, has failed to meet the requirements of the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 Summit held in Paris in
1989,” Mr. Folarin said.

The FATF
recommendations and requirements are to detect, prevent, and suppress
the financing of terrorism and terrorist acts. However, out of the Task
Force’s nine special recommendations, Nigeria was rated ‘non-compliant’
in seven and ‘partially compliant’ in only two.

“This rating is not good enough for the country,” Mr. Folarin said.

“The answer to addressing these poor ratings lies in the passage of this bill into law.”

Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross River) criticised Nigeria’s indifference to the war against terrorism in the past.

“The global
community thinks Nigeria is not doing enough,” Mr. Ndoma-Egba said.
“There is almost a global consensus that Nigeria is not a terrorist
state, but there are concerns that there are identified footholds of
terrorism in Nigeria.”

Terror bill

The bill has five
essential parts covering acts of terrorism and related offences,
terrorism funding, and terrorist properties, mutual assistance and
extradition, investigation and prosecution.

The acts of
terrorism, according to the bill, include attacks upon a person’s life
which may cause bodily harm or death, kidnappings, as well as the
destruction of government facilities or private properties in a manner
likely to endanger human life or result in a major economic loss.

The bill also
addresses the hijacking of aircrafts, ships, or other means of public
transport, as well as the manufacture, possession, acquisition,
transport, supply, or use of weapons and explosives.

The propagation and
dissemination of information in any form calculated to cause panic,
evoke violence, or intimidate a government, person or group of persons,
also fall within actions the bill seeks to deal with or prevent.

Mr. Folarin
described the kidnappings in southern Nigeria, the Boko Haram incident
in Borno State, the Kala Kato uprising in Bauchi State, and the ongoing
Jos crises as acts of domestic terrorism.

“It is a fact that
terrorism is taking root and assuming a new dimension everywhere, and
it is our duty as responsible lawmakers to work towards its eradication
through the promulgation of relevant legislation,” he said.

Every senator that
contributed to the debate applauded the bill and it was referred to the
Senate committees on Security and Intelligence, Judiciary, and Foreign
Affairs for further legislative actions.

It is expected to be passed into law before the end of this quarter.

“This is a bill
that requires the attention and support of every senator,” Senator Nuhu
Aliyu (PDP, Niger), the chairman of Senate committee on security and
Intelligence, said.