Kaduna state House of Assembly has approved castration as punishment for anybody convicted of rape in the state.
The lawmakers agreed to a 21-year jail term for rapists of adults and life imprisonment for rapists of minors.
This followed the amendment of the State Penal Code (No.5) Law of 2017, which stipulates stiffer penalties for rapists in the state as part of the efforts to protect women and children against any form of gender violence.
Spokesman of the Assembly, Musa Ahmed disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Kaduna on Friday.
According to him, “with the new law, anyone convicted of rape will have his organ surgically removed so that even upon completion of his jail term, he will not be able to commit the crime again.”
He said in addition to the castration of the convicted rapist, the new law recommends 21 years in prison for the rape of an adult and life imprisonment for the rape of a minor.
Wife of the governor, Hajiya Ummi El-Rufa’i, had during a public hearing on the Bill seeking the amendment of the penal code last month advocated either castration or death sentence for rapists.
While she expressed concern that an average of five rape cases, especially minors, were recorded in Kaduna state on a daily basis, she noted that only severe penalties for rapists in the state penal code “will serve as a deterrent to others.”
