The Lagos state high court sitting in Ikeja, on Friday, the 25th of February, 2022 finally sentenced the popular billionaire Kidnapper Evans and two of his accomplices to life imprisonment.

Evans was arrested in a sting operation after investigation proved that he and his cohorts were the masterminds behind the kidnapping of Mr Donatius Dunu, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maydon Pharmaceuticals Ltd on February 14, 2017, and a ransom of €223,000 was collected from his family. Evans and his accomplices before then had been accused of other numerous kidnap cases and they were subjects of police investigation until he was busted and arrested with his gang. 

What the Nigerian laws say about the crime of Kidnapping and abduction for ransom:

The crime of kidnapping was duly provided for in the criminal code act in S.364 of and it reads thus:

S.364. Kidnapping

Any person who?

(1) unlawfully imprisons any person, and takes him out of Nigeria without his consent; or

(2) unlawfully imprisons any person within Nigeria in such a manner as to prevent him from applying to a court for his release or from discovering to any other person the place where he is imprisoned, or in such a manner as to prevent any person entitled to have access to him from discovering the place where he is imprisoned,

is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for ten years.

In the criminal code, the crime of kidnapping carries the punishment of ten years imprisonment but some  state legislators and even federal legislators have in some many plenaries argued that the punishment of 10 years jail term for a kidnapper is not efficient to punish a kidnapper and to deter other prospective kidnappers from committing the crime and this led to some states and federal legislators proposing and even passing a bills/laws to provide stiffer punishments for the crime of kidnapping.

Lagos state is one of the states that are openly against the 10 years jail term for kidnappers provided in the criminal code. Though the federal law which is the Criminal code already provides for the crime of kidnapping and its punishment, Lagos state have passed a state law that provides for stiffer punishments for kidnappers; stiffer than the punishment of 10 years jail term provided in S.364 of the criminal code.

The Lagos State promulgated a law in 2019 captioned “The Lagos State Kidnapping Prohibition Law, 2019” and Section 3(3) of this law punishes kidnapping with a jail term of 25 years to life imprisonment and when the kidnapper is liable for the death of the hostage, he will be liable for for death penalty as provided in s.2(2) of the law.

The senate has also proposed a bill to amend s.364 of the criminal code which provides for the punishment of 10 years jail term for a kidnapper.  The federal lawmakers have incessantly argued that stiffer punishments like  death sentence or life imprisonments for the crime of kidnapping will be the best alternative punishment. A bill was then proposed by the senate: captioned “Abduction, Wrongful Restraint and Confinement Bill 2021. The bill’s primary goal is to introduce stiffer punishment for kidnapping, wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement for ransom.

In summary, although the punishment for the offense of kidnapping is Nigeria as provided in s364 of the criminal code is 10 years jail term, some states of the federation have made a law which provides for stiffer punishment for kidnappers; Lagos for example provided for 25 years to life imprisonments for kidnappers and in some cases death penalty for the kidnapper(s) if the hostage died in the custody of the kidnapper.

The Evans,  the kidnapper’s case was a very notorious case and he and his cohorts finally met their Waterloo as they had been sent away for life.

Russia invaded Ukraine and Ukraine with  their allies; NATO and USA could probably retaliate by invading Russia and when this happens, it will definitely lead to the break out of another war. 

It should be noted that during war times “everything or anything doesn’t go”. Even while countries are at war, they are mandated to conduct such war in line with the rules and principles of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and if they do not, they will be tried and sanctioned for committing war crimes. The IHL rules apply to international armed conflicts alone.

The International humanitarian law (IHL) which is also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (jus in bello). It stands as a branch of international law to limit the effects and the aftermath of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating or who are not parties in the  hostilities i.e. the civilians (hors de combat; outside of combat) and by also restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.

The IHL does not care about who started the war or the reasons for the war or the justifications for the war, what the IHL cares about is the regulation of the war and that rules must be followed during the war time and anything done  outside the rules of the IHL will be regarded as a war crime. These rules are to protect both the civilians and the combatants and to reduce collateral damages to its barest minimum.

There are 6 basic  rules of the IHL that apply to international armed conflict; these include the four 1949 Geneva Conventions,  the 1977 Additional Protocol I and the rule of customary international humanitarian law.

These six basic  rules of the IHL to be obeyed in war times include:

Attacks should be made solely against military objectives. This means that soldiers/combatants are only permitted to attack military objectives and not permitted to attack civilian objectives. Therefore, it amounts to war crime when civilian objectives are targeted and attacked during war. A place marked out for civilian dwelling and residences like civilian concentration camps, estates, refugee camps, places of worship, schools etc are prohibited to be attacked. People who do not or can no longer take part in the hostilities are entitled to respect for their lives and should be allowed to live.

It is forbidden and constitutes a war crime to kill or wound an adversary (a combatant or a soldier) who surrenders or who can no longer take part in the fighting due to sickness or ill health. When a soldier surrenders or  he is wounded to the extent that he cannot no longer partake in the war, he is to be treated like a civilian. It constitutes a war crime when a soldier shoots or orders another soldier who has surrendered or who is not armed to be shot. A wounded soldier is not to be maltreated or taken as hostage, he is to be given all necessary care for the time being. 

There are weapons that are highly forbidden to be used by soldiers during war times. You are not allowed to use a weapon that kills slowly or causes a painful death. Neither the parties to the conflict nor members of their armed forces have an unlimited right to choose methods and means of warfare. It is forbidden to use weapons or methods of warfare that are likely to cause unnecessary losses or excessive sufferings to combatants. 

When a country is invaded, the wounded and the sick should be collected and treated by the country that invaded them. When the sick and wounded are left to die or untreated, it constitutes a war crime. Medical personnels and medical establishments, transports and equipment must be spared during war times to care for the sick and the wounded. 

The red cross or red crescent on a white background is the distinctive sign indicating that such persons and objects must be respected. It is a war crime to target or attack a Red Cross member or their facilities or other relating  medical personnels during war times because they are the ones that collect and care for the wounded and the sick; both wounded combatants and civilians. 

Captured combatants and civilians must be protected against all acts of violence. Those who find themselves under the authority of the adverse party are entitled to respect for their lives, their dignity, their personal rights and their political, religious and other convictions. They must enjoy basic judicial guarantees

Although there are rules, basics rules of international armed conflicts but the applicability and the enforceability of these rules has always been the problem and this will definitely be the story for another day but the take home for today is that there are rules that regulate war times and warring parties are to conduct the their activities in accordance with the IHL rules if not they will be said to have committed war crimes.