By Kingsley OMONOBI, Abuja
Second Republic Senate President, Dr Joseph Wayas, yesterday added his voice and aligned with the calls for capital punishment for persons found guilty of the now thriving kidnapping in the country.

Speaking when he received a group Volunteers for Awareness  Against Kidnapping and Trafficking in persons, Wayas said that incessant armed robberies in the country robbed off badly on the image of Nigeria but this had been compounded by the new trend of kidnapping.

The spate of kidnapping, he said, was a repugnant act and was moving the country back to the stone age of  when man was a hunter gatherer, noting that the impunity with which the crime was being committed has made all residents in Nigeria, indigenes and foreigners alike vulnerable.

Emphasizing that public execution of arrested kidnappers would serve as a deterrent to others, he expressed hope that the National Assembly which was taking interest in the phenomenon would move to pass it into law.

He maintained that the fight against kidnapping was a war that must be won, noting that the police and other security agencies had a big task in this regard as the criminals seemed to be taking the lead and could only be checked through collaboration of the security agencies with the public.

“Kidnapping if not stopped, could lead to the complete breakdown of law and order in the country as well as paralyze social and economic activities, as people may become afraid to venture out of their homes”.

The Cross Rive State born politician who said the perpetrators of kidnapping played God by hold people and threatening to kill them except a certain amount of money was paid as ransom, tracing the origin of the crime to the Niger Delta region.

He however, argued that kidnapping deteriorated and spread to other parts of the country as government and relevant agencies did not pay adequate attention to the crime from the outset, rather culprits were celebrated.

Earlier, the National President of the volunteer group, Mr. Charles Edet, said the group which had been in existence for a time was taking its campaigns to the grassroots’ as a result of the recent increase in the rate of Kidnapping.