Before I support killing of anyone who steals he should have stolen N1 trillion and not N1 billion —Senate chief whip, Ali

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume has revealed that he would support the death penalty for those stealing government money, cautioning that those who steal one million or one billion should not be killed, “but someone who steals one trillion of government money should be killed.”

Ndume also noted that corruption in Nigeria is people-driven, admitting that politicians steal and share with the people.

The Chief Whip stated this when he was featured on Channels TV Politics Today On Tuesday when questions about the death penalty as the deterrent for those caught with drugs were being fielded.

According to Ndume, “If you compare us, politicians, to all the corruption, it is very small. Our corruption is people-driven. If you steal it, you will go and share it with the people. If you don’t, you are not coming back for four years. There is no reason for stealing.

“I have been to the National Assembly, I can’t say because we are on TV now and not telling the truth. If the death penalty is supposed to be included in corruption, I will support it but you don’t go and kill someone that stole one million or one billion, no. But someone who steals one trillion of government money should be killed.

“The death penalty is the best deterrent for those being caught for drugs. If you do drugs, you are killing people.

“That means you have destroyed the lives of so many people and killed so many people,” he said.

Vanguard reported that the Senate passed the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024 bill, which prescribed the death penalty for persons found guilty of trading in hard drugs and narcotics.

Many legal Icons and CSOs have condemned the bill noting that it is not the way out to stop drug trafficking in the country while many clamoured for strict border control, some think that tackling the poverty rate in the country will stem the ugly tide of drug trafficking.