Ekiti state lawmakers approve death penalty for cultists

In a bid to stem the menace of cultism, lawmakers in Ekiti state have taken a hardline stance towards cult related activities  – A bill seeking to prohibit the activities of secret cults.  Contained in the bill is the prescription of the death penalty for cultists while those found guilty of aiding and abetting cultism get life imprisonment.

The new provision was an amendment to the law against cultism, enacted by Ayo Fayose during his first tenure as governor of the state. The recent upsurge in cultism gave urgency to the bill titled ‘Secret Cult (Abolition and Prohibition) [Amendment] Bill, 2017.’

Before the passage, the House Leader, Akinyele Olatunji, recalled the killings at the university due to cult activities.

“We will not allow any group to turn Ekiti into death trap area,” he said, while thanking the governor, Ayodele Fayose, for introducing the bill.
Remarking on the bill, speaker of the house, Kola Oluwawole said: “We cannot fold our arms while some people would constitute themselves as a menace and eliminating the lives of innocent people of this state.
“It is an everlasting sorrow for someone to lose his child or relative. The bill will reshape the lives of our youth. It will ‘touch’ those who intend to join any secret cults and those who have the intention to take another person’s life.
“Those people that we are representing will have peace of mind that their lives and those of their children are safe. The bill considers very seriously the negative consequences of such action because of the irreparable loss of lives.”
The bill is yet to be signed into law by the governor.

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