BY AUSTIN OGWUDA
ASABA—DELTA State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Charles Ajuyah (SAN), has assured Deltans that there is no going back in implementing the law recently passed by the state House of Assembly prescribing death penalty for kidnappers, in which the governor’s veto was overturned.

Also, Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr. Johnson Erijo, insisted that the passage of the Bill into law by overriding the governor’s veto was in line with what their respective constituents craved for because of the menace of kidnapping.

Both spoke in Asaba in a television programme, Focus, on the state Broadcasting Service, DBS, weekend.

According to the Attorney-General, “the penalty for murder is death, but I can tell you that every other day you find this offence being committed.

“So it is an argument now whether it will serve as a deterrent or not, but as far as we are concerned we have laws and we will apply them.

“We will see what comes out of it. As Ministry of Justice and the executive, we will certainly go ahead to implement the laws as it is. The extant laws, of course, we have a duty to do that.

“We cannot go to court and say we don’t like that law. It is the law that is in force. We will certainly press that the maximum punishment is given because that is the law.”

Erijo, who is the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, said overriding the governor’s veto would not breed any form of friction between the legislature and executive.

He said: “It is because people feel we are still at the elementary stage of our democracy.”

I don’t think why should expect a strenuous relationship because the House overturned the veto of the governor.

“I don’t think that the governor too, will think in that direction. The people that drafted the Constitution contemplated a situation like that from the beginning that was why such provisions were made.

“In all other climes of course you find such situations. I don’t think that is anything that anybody will grieve about to say oh, the House overturned my veto. Of course, that was why he communicated officially to the House that I am refusing my assent for so, so reasons.

It was now left for the House to say we saw reasons with him or going ahead with our position. And that Bill was sponsored by 28 members. It was well contemplated and in our opinion that we felt we can give to our constituents because of the increasing incidents of kidnapping across the State. We believe that it will serve as deterrent”, he added.