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Enugu State authorities are taking a stringent stance against kidnapping, revealing a strategy to raze properties suspected of serving as hideouts for kidnappers, regardless of whether they’re private homes or commercial establishments.
Professor Chidiebere Onyia, Secretary to the State Government, announced in a statement that the planned demolition of properties linked to kidnapping was a continuation of the Governor Peter Mbah Administration’s comprehensive strategy to root out crime and criminality in the state.
Professor Onyia cautioned property owners to exercise due diligence by thoroughly vetting potential tenants before entering into any rental agreements, to avoid unwittingly harboring criminal elements.
“Now, after due diligence, the government has compiled the properties used for kidnapping purposes in recent times and they will go down sooner than later to serve as a deterrent to others,” Onyia said.
“There is no hiding place for criminal elements in Enugu State. They either repent, leave town or meet their Waterloo. The choice is theirs.”
It is worth noting that the Enugu State House of Assembly had previously amended the Criminal Code Law of Enugu State in November 2016, which was later signed into law by the then-governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on January 20, 2017.
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Section 315 of the Criminal Code (Second Amendment) Law Cap. 30, Laws of Enugu State, currently provides, “If the building or structure owned by the offender or any other person, who knows or ought to reasonably know that the building or structure is so being used for that purpose, the building or structure shall be demolished or forfeited to the State Government.”
The delay in enforcing the law has raised questions among Enugu residents, who are wondering why the government has not taken action eight years after its passage.
Responding to the citizen agitations over what they perceived as a lukewarm attitude to the law, the state government said it was taking time to carry out due diligence to ensure that nobody suffers undue losses or miscarriage of justice.
