Monarch’s murder: Nwifuru seeks death penalty for kidnappers

By Jeff Agbodo Ebonyi State Government has forwarded an executive bill to the State House of Assembly seeking to make kidnapping a capital offence punishable by death without an option of alternative punishment. Governor Francis Nwifuru disclosed this at the weekend during the funeral of the slain traditional ruler of Ndufu-Alike autonomous community in Ikwo Local Government Area, HRH Eze Francis Igwe.

Igwe, father of the immediate past Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Eric Igwe, was abducted on Sunday, March 1, while on his way to church. He was reportedly killed by his abductors a day after. Speaking at the funeral, conducted by the Assemblies of God Church, Nwifuru lamented what he described as the moral deterioration among Nigerian youths, expressing concern about their readiness to assume leadership positions in the future.

He also pledged to implement any court decision against those arrested over the monarch’s murder, adding that the proposed legislation was intended to deter kidnapping and abduction in the state. The governor said: “I am worried about our present-day youths taking up leadership positions tomorrow. Some of our youths are not well informed, and they act so irrationally.

“I am concerned because, with some of their attitudinal dispositions, there seems to be no future for our youths. “The youths need to have a rethink concerning certain actions of theirs, especially as concerns their attitudes towards community leaders. They should desist from treating their leaders as holders of their destinies.” He warned that the monarch’s murder should be the last such incident in Ikwo and other parts of the state.

“I will not wait to execute the decision of the court over the murderers of this monarch, HRH Eze Francis Igwe. We have sent a bill to the House of Assembly to make kidnapping attract the death sentence by hanging in the state, with no other option. This should serve as a deterrent to those planning a kidnap, whether for political reasons or otherwise,” the governor said.

Nwifuru described the late monarch as a forthright, vocal and astute parliamentarian who represented his people effectively in the old Anambra State and attracted development projects to his community, including the popular Folk Technical College, which has produced prominent Nigerians. In tributes, former governors Sam Egwu and Martin Elechi, as well as former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, described the deceased as a statesman, peacemaker, renowned educationist, administrator and passionate leader who left enduring legacies.

They urged the family and the Ikwo people to take solace in his contributions to society. In his tribute, the monarch’s first son, Igwe, described his father as a devoted family man and role model who guided him on family life, religion, politics and culture. He said the circumstances surrounding his father’s death remained difficult for the family to comprehend but expressed confidence that his legacies would endure across generations.

Thanking sympathisers and well-wishers who attended the funeral, Igwe disclosed that his father’s last wish was for Governor Nwifuru to secure a second term. Earlier, in a sermon titled, “Prepare for Eternity”, the General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Nigeria, Rev. Dr. Abel Amadi, represented by the church’s General Treasurer, Rev. Dr. Gabriel Michael, urged Christians to remain prepared for eternity, noting that no one knew the hour of their death.