By The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday passed the Unlawful Societies and Cultism (Prohibition) Bill 2020, a bill banning the activities of cultists and related illegal societies across the State.
The new law, which was passed at a plenary session, stipulates a 21-year imprisonment for anyone found guilty of engaging in cult activities.
Titled ‘A law to provide for the prohibition of unlawful societies and cultism in Lagos state and for other connected purposes’, it also stipulates a 15-year jail term for anyone convicted of abetting cultists or who allows his premises to be used by cultists as a meeting place.
While speaking at the session, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, said the House had included punishment for parents of cultists found guilty of cultism in the amendment of the Anti-Cultism Law submitted by the state government.
He said, “Parents of cultists found guilty of cultism in the state might be liable for punishment.
“The bill, if signed into law, will provide for the prohibition of unlawful societies and cultism in Lagos and for connected purposes.”
The Speaker directed the acting Clerk of the House, Mr. Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit the law to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his assent.
