Kaduna state assembly has passed a bill to support death sentence and castration of rape convicts.
Legislators on Wednesday amended the Penal Code Law No 5 of 2017 based on an executive bill brought by the state governor.
The executive bill sought to amend section 258 of the Penad code law which states that “Whoever commits rape, shall be punished with imprisonment for life.”
The section, according to the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Tanimu Musa Kachia, has been substituted with subsections 1, 2, 3 as follows:
Surgical castration
“Whoever commits rape of a child below the age of 14 years upon conviction will be punished with surgical castration and death.
“Whoever has sexual intercourse with a male child below the age of 14 years shall be punished with surgical castration and death.
“Where the female adult is convicted for the offence of rape of a child, the court shall punish the accused by bilateral salpingectomy and death.
“Where the victim is above 14 years the court shall on conviction, sentence the accused with punishment on surgical castration and life in imprisonment.
“Where the convict is a child, the court shall order as appropriate under the child and young person’s law cap 26 law of Kaduna state 1991 in addition to the conviction under subsection 1 and 2 order that the convict be listed in the convict register to be published in the media by the Attorney General.
“Where the court is trying on the case of rape involving a child below the age of 14, the collaboration of a medical report shall be necessary,” he said.
‘Not again’
El-Rufai had in July said his administration was considering castration for rape convicts.
El-Rufai made the remark when women advocating for justice for rape victims staged a peaceful rally at the government house.
He had said the state law prescribes 21 years for rape of an adult and life imprisonment for rape of a child adding that: “In addition to life imprisonment or 21 years imprisonment, anyone convicted of rape will have his organ surgically removed so that even after he finishes his term, he will not be able to rape anyone again.”
“So long as the tool exists, there is the likelihood that he may go back to do it again,” he said.
Last month, the governor’s wife, Ummi El-Rufai has visited the state house of Assembly to advocate for law castrating and executing rapists where she stressed that an average of five rape cases especially for minors are reported daily in Kaduna State.
