Senate amends ICPC act, seeks two-year imprisonment for false petitions’ writers

The senate has passed a bill to amend the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) act to imprison writers of false petitioners for two years without an option of fine.

The upper legislative chamber passed the bill after Abdul Kwari, chairman of the senate committee on anti-corruption, presented a report on Tuesday.

Before the amendment, the punishment for writers of false petitions was a fine of N100,000.

While presenting his report, Kwari said there was a need to make the punishment for writing false petitions stringent to deter people from misleading the commission.

Contributing to the debate, Adamu Aliero, senator representing Kebbi central, proposed that the punishment should be five years imprisonment without an option of fine.

Aliero argued that many people have suffered as a result of false petitions against them.

“Many people are suffering as a result of that. Even we senators are still suffering from that. The section should be substituted with five years imprisonment without option of fine,” he said.

The clauses of the bill were approved in the “committee of the whole” after the senators voted on them.

Commenting on the bill, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said with the provision, those who want to commit such an offence would have a rethink.

Lawan said the provision would enhance the operations of the ICPC.