Drug traffickers now face death penalty

A Bill seeking to impose a death penalty on people convicted of drug trafficking has been passed for the third reading in Nigeria's senate. The proposed capital punishment, which is not yet law, replaces life imprisonment, which was previously the harshest sentence, BBC News reports. It was tabled on Thursday by Senator Mohammed Monguno on behalf of the Joint Committees on Judiciary & Drugs & Narcotics. Senators who supported the Bill argued that the threat of execution would serve as a stronger deterrent to drug traffickers than life imprisonment. However, lawmakers who opposed the measure expressed concerns about the irreversible nature of the death penalty and the possibility of wrongful convictions. A majority of the senators voted in support of the Bill, which also seeks to strengthen the operations of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency. The Bill now awaits presidential assent to become law. Nigeria has recently been making substantial seizures of drugs ranging from cannabis to opioids from suspected traffickers.