I’ll support death penalty for corruption but only kill those who steal N1trillion, not N1bn – Ndume says as he insists politicians’ corruption is “small” compared to those in other careers

The Chief Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, has said that corruption in Nigerian politics is people-driven and should not warrant any serious punishment because, according to him, Nigerian politicians “steal and share with the people”.

He made this statement while explaining the difference between corruption by politicians and other people. 

Ndume featured on Channels TV Politics Today on May 14 to speak on the death penalty as the deterrent for those caught with drugs.

He said the corruption by politicians is a “small one” when compared to corruption by others.

He stated, “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 senator added that he supports death punishment for drug dealers.

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

“In fact, that means you have destroyed the lives of so many people and killed so many people.” 

Recently, the Senate passed a bill, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act (Amendment Bill) 2024 passed by the Senate. The bill prescribed death penalty for persons found guilty of trading in hard drugs and narcotics.