Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai has signed into law the amended Penal Code Law 2020 that provides for stiff penalties for rape of a child including death, surgical castration for male convicts, and bilateral salpingectomy for female rapists.
The state House of Assembly had last week Wednesday amended the Penal Code Law No 5 of 2017 based on an executive bill brought by Governor el-Rufai, seeking to amend Section 258 of the penal code law which states that “Whoever commits rape, shall be punished by imprisonment for life.”
However, at 8:08 pm on Wednesday, el-Rufai wrote through his Twitter account that he has signed the amended law as Penal Code Law 2020.
Section 258 of the old law has now been amended and substituted with subsections 1, 2, 3 which state as follows:
“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 of surgical castration and life 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.”
