The bill seeking to impose a death penalty on those convicted of drug trafficking has passed the third reading at the senate.

The upper legislative chamber passed the bill on Thursday after Tahir Monguno, senator representing Borno north, presented a report on behalf of the joint committees on judiciary and drugs and narcotics.

While presenting the report, Monguno said there is a need to strengthen the war against drugs in the country.

After the report was presented, the senate went into the “committee of the whole” to consider clauses of the bill where some senators disagreed with the death sentence.

When put to a voice vote, Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, gave it to the “ayes”.

Thereafter, Adams Oshiomhole, a senator representing Edo north, said the senate should be careful with any law that deals with life.

“Anything that deals with life, we should be careful,” Oshiomhole said.

Responding, Jibrin said Oshiomhole should have called for a divide.

“I’m sorry my former national chairman… you should have called for a divide, it is your right, but we have passed it,” the deputy senate president said.

Also, Akpan Ekong, senator representing Akwa Ibom south, tried to come under “personal explanation” to disapprove of the provision, but Jibrin ruled him out of order.

The bill, which originated from the house of representatives, will be sent to the president for assent if there are no differences between the two chambers of the national assembly.

If there are differences, the two chambers will set up a conference committee to harmonise the grey areas before it is sent for assent.

In recent times, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has been making substantial seizures of substances ranging from cannabis to opioids from suspected traffickers.

1. The clerk of Rivers Assembly, Emeka Amadi, has disowned the pro-Governor Sim Fubara’s faction of the Assembly. The clerk said the three members of the Assembly loyal to Fubara— Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo, Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari and Hon. Adolphus Orubimie Timothy were suspended on October 30, 2023, and cannot lay claim to be officers of the House.

2. President Bola Tinubu has appointed Chukwuemeka Woke as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority. The appointment was announced in a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

3. The Senate on Thursday, May 9, approved the death penalty for those convicted on the charge of drug trafficking in the country. The punishment prescribed in the extant NDLEA Act is a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

4. A Bill which seeks to increase the salaries and allowances of judicial officers on Thursday, May 9, scaled second reading at the Senate. The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration and debate on a bill titled: “A bill for an act to prescribe the salaries, allowances and fringe benefits of judicial office holders in Nigeria and for related matters (2024).”

5. The House of Representatives has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to withdraw its circular directing banks to start deducting a cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions from Nigerians. This is coming on the heels of public outcry against the levy by the organised labour, associations of several professional bodies and commercial ventures, as well as individuals.

6. Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has announced plans to relocate 359 schools from high-risk areas to safer communities within the state. The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Sani Kila, revealed these measures during a stakeholders forum and training session for the newly established Schools’ Protection Squad.

7. Speaker of the pro-Wike faction of Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, on Thursday, raised an alarm that Governor Similanayi Fubara was plotting to demolish the official quarters of the lawmakers. Fubara visited the quarters located at GRA, Port Harcourt, on Thursday.

8. The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, barred the immediate-past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatimah, and son-in-law, Jalal Hamma, from travelling outside the country. Justice Sylvanus Orji ruled that they must not leave the country pending the conclusion of their N2.7bn fraud trial.

9. The House of Representatives said on Thursday that the controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway had no National Assembly’s approval. It also resolved to investigate the procurement process of the coastal highway project.

10. Former Super Eagles player, Ibrahim Babangida has died in an accident along Zaira road. His brother, Tijani, who was with the wife, son and maid, was also involved in the crash.

The House of Representatives Thursday asked the Central Bank of Nigeria to withdraw the circular directing all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country, The Nation reports.

The motion on the urgent need to halt and modify the implementation of the cybersecurity levy was moved by the member representing the Obio/Akpor Constituency, Kingsley Chinda.

The circular, which was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others; noted that the implementation of the levy starts two weeks from Monday, May 6, 2024.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy,’” the circular partly read.

In the motion, Chinda said, “The House notes that businesses which the said Section 44(2)(a) refers to are listed in the Second Schedule to the Cybercrimes Act to be GSM Service Providers and all telecommunication companies; Internet Service Providers; Banks and Other Financial Institutions; Insurance Companies and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

“The CBN circular mandates all banks, other financial institutions and payments service providers to implement the Cybercrimes Act by applying the levy at the point of electronic transfer origination as “Cybersecurity Levy,” and remitting same.

“The wordings of the CBN circular leaves the directive to multiple interpretations including that the levy be paid by bank customers, that is, Nigerians, against the letters and spirit of Section 44(2)(a) and the Second Schedule to the Cybercrimes Act, which specifies the businesses that should be levied accordingly,” the lawmaker noted.

The development according to the lawmaker “has led to apprehension as civil society organisations and citizens have taken to conventional and social media to call out the Federal Government to give ultimatums for a reversal of the ‘imposed levy on Nigerians’ among other things.”

He argued that unless immediate pragmatic steps are taken to stop the proposed action of the CBN, “The Cybercrime Act shall be implemented in error at a time when Nigerians are experiencing the aftermath of multiple removal of subsidies from petroleum, electricity and so on and the rising inflation.”