Zulum signs bills to support Boko Haram, rape victims, others into law

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has signed into law nine bills passed by the State House of Assembly.

One of the bills was the “Borno State Social Investment Bill” which will provide legal backing for the state to provide special support to victims of Boko Haram attacks.

Other bills signed into law by Zulum include Borno State Criminal Justice Administration Laws, Borno State Penal Code Law, Borno State Secondary Education Board Bill, Borno State Investment Protection Bill, Borno Primary Healthcare Development Bill, Borno State Drugs and Other Medical Consumable Bill, Borno State Livestock Management Bill, and the Borno Local Government Amendment Bill.

The governor signed the bills at a brief ceremony held at the council chambers of the Government House in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

He said: “The Social Investment Bill provides social services such as cash and consumables assistance to the victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

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“The Borno State Criminal Justice Administration Law will address the increasing cases of rape and political thuggery and those found involved in political thuggery risk seven years imprisonment and their sponsors will also not go unpunished.

“Borno State Investment Protection Bill seeks to provide the state the powers to tap the vast mineral deposit in the state, while the Drugs and Medical Consumable Bills will address the problem of scams and reduce the issue of fake and counterfeit drugs.”

Governor Zulum stated that a government agency will not only be distributing drugs to government health facilities but will also sell to private pharmacies and health facilities.

Zulum commended the Borno State House of Assembly for the cordial working relationship with the executive arm, saying within the last four years, the executive arm sent about 70 bills to both the 9th and 10th Assembly from which most were passed by the House and assented to by him.

Speaking, the Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, AbdulKarim Lawan, said of the nine bills being signed, “three of the bills were from the 9th Assembly, while six bills were from the 10th Assembly and all these bills were passed by the 10th Assembly.”

The Speaker recalled that in the 9th Assembly, the House received 67 bills all of which he said were passed, noting that other bills were passed by the 10th Assembly.

Lawan, however, commended Governor Zulum for the cordial relationship between the House and the executive.

The Star