11th September, 2020
By Muhaimin Olowoporoku
The punishment for people found guilty of raping children below 14 years in Kaduna State would be surgical castration.
This is after Lawmakers in the state approved the punishment for suspects found guilty of such an offence henceforth.
However, Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State still has to assent the bill before it becomes a law in the state.
Currently in Kaduna, the state penal law provides that child rapists are to serve life imprisonment while adult rapists bag 21 years sentence.
Nigeria’s federal law, on the other hand, states that between 14 years and life imprisonment would be the punishment for rapists.
Kaduna State life sentence for child rape and 21 years sentence was passed a few months back. Afterward, El-Rufai pushed for a stiff punishment. The governor lamented that convicts often rape more persons after serving their jail term.
Recently in Bauchi, Bala Mohammed apologized for granting state pardon to a serial rapist earlier this year.
Yusuf Bako, a 50-year-old man who had been imprisoned in 2001 and 2015 for separate rape offences was arrested again last week for raping a four-year-old girl inside a mosque in Bauchi metropolis.
Latest development as regard rape in Kaduna
Earlier yesterday the 9th of September, 2020, a bill to amend the Kaduna State Penal Code Law No.5 of 2017 has been passed into Law by @Kadlegislature
"The Bill Recommend total Castration & Bilateral Salpingectomy for Rapist in the State"
We must #EndRapeNow , God’s willing.
— Rt. Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani (@SpeakerZailani) September 10, 2020
Reportedly, the amended bill which recommended total castration was tweeted by Kaduna State Legislature and was later deleted.
The state legislature hours later responded to Hon. Yusuf Ibrahim Zailani on Twitter saying the body is happy they have increased punishment for rape.
Progress. We are happy to note that the @Kadlegislature has increased the punishment for rape. We trust that the judiciary will sentence more of these rapists to the maximum. We also assure that the @MOJKaduna & security agents will build strong cases against perpetrators. https://t.co/XM9ChKQuYW
— Human Services & Social Development Kaduna (@KDHSSD) September 11, 2020