Kidnapping according to K. C. Njoku is the forceful imprisonment of a person after taking him/her away against the person’s will.1 This is usually done for a ransom or in furtherance of another crime. According to the thesis, the use of force to take and detain will also be regarded as an assault and other related o ences may also be committed before, during, or after the detention. Alongside murder, kidnapping is the next signifi cant o ence under the common law, which is yet to be codifi ed into statute in all the Southeastern states. In Imo state however, the State House of Assembly passed a law in 2010 carrying death penalty for convicted kidnappers.