The bill, which now awaits the assent of President Bola Tinubu, titled the “National Drug Law Enforcement Act 2024,” was supported by senators during its third reading and prescribes the death penalty for anyone who imports, manufactures, produces, processes, sells, or deals in hard drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Senate Leader Ali Ndume said life imprisonment for such crimes should be “harsher” and “changed to death penalty,” according to Nigerian daily Punch. “This is the global best practice. We need to do this to address the issue of drug abuse which has become a serious problem affecting our youths,” he said. “It should be made more severe than life imprisonment. It should be death penalty by hanging or other means,” he advocated. However, senators opposed to the amendment of the legislation raised concerns over the irreversible nature of such a sentence and the possibility of innocent people being convicted. Law enforcement sources quoted by Punch said the amendment “will send a strong message to drug barons and traffickers.” The bill has now been sent to Tinubu’s office, who has yet to give his assent for the legislation to be enacted. Read Also: One in six children in Nigeria goes hungry, 25% more than in 2023 (Portuguese version)