A bill to review provisions of the Criminal Code Act on rape and kidnapping
has passed second reading at the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday.
The bill sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu seeks to have the portions of
Sections 218 and 221 of the Criminal Code deleted; to amend the definition of
rape as contained in Section 357, and also, to increase punishment for
kidnapping in Section 364.
In her lead debate on the bill, Tinubu pointed out that rape as defined in
the main Act made it a crime committed against women alone.
According to the Criminal Code, a man commits rape when he has carnal
knowledge of a woman against her will, without her consent, or if that consent
was gotten by coercion.
She said, “The Criminal Code Act defines rape in Section 357 as an offence
against women. However, times indicate that there are incidents of
non-consensual sex perpetrated against the male gender.
“This definition is particularly grievous because it perpetuates the
socio-cultural belief that men do not need to consent to sexual acts. In
addition, we must ensure that our laws and jurisprudence evolve with the rest
of the world.
On the issue of kidnapping, Section 364 gives a punishment of imprisonment
for a term of 10 years where a crime of kidnap is established.
According to the Act, kidnap is unlawful imprisonment of any person to
prevent him from applying to a court for his release or from disclosing to any
person where he is imprisoned.
Tinubu then said, “Simply put, stealing a living, breathing human.
Curiously, the Act provides a term of 21 years for robbery and death for armed
robbery. Why is the punishment for stealing property and replaceable things
higher than what is obtainable when you steal a human being?
Also sought for amendment is the 218 Section of the Act which states that
anyone who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen or
attempts same is guilty of a felony and liable to life imprisonment or 14 years
imprisonment respectively.
Tinubu argued that what the Section achieved was to impose a statute of
limitation on prosecution of these offences, adding that the bar to prosecution
negates the principles of natural law, equity and good conscience.
The bill further seeks to Section 221 which provides that where a person
has or attempts carnal knowledge of a girl being of or above the age of 13 and
under the age of 16, an ‘idiot or imbecile’, he shall be liable to imprisonment
for a period of two years, provided that the prosecution is commenced within
two months after the offence is committed.
She said that the globally accepted aims of criminal law and the criminal
justice system include deterrence, retribution, restoration, and rehabilitation
of offenders.
The bill was unanimously passed after a voice vote and was referred to the
Senate Committee on Judiciary for more legislative work.
The committee is to report back in four weeks.
