Nigeria To Recognise Rape Against Men As Bill Passes Second Reading In Senate

A bill seeking to remove gender restriction of rape in the Criminal Code Act passed second reading in the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday. 

The bill seeks to abolish the recognition of rape as a crime committed only against women, whereas a more inclusive definition of rape would recognise any gender of victim and perpetrator, and not just women being raped by men.

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The bill which is being  sponsored by Lagos Central Senator, Oluremi Tinubu, seeks to amend the Criminal Code Act Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

It seeks to delete portions of Sections 218 and 221, amend the definition of rape as contained in Section 357, and increase the punishment for kidnapping in Section 364. 

Tinubu objected to the provision of Section 218 of the Criminal Code which provides that “anyone who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen or attempts same is guilty of felony and liable to life imprisonment or fourteen years imprisonment, respectively.”

She said the recognition of rape as a crime commited against women in the face of Nigerian law ought to be revised to reflect today’s reality. 

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“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 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,” said the senator. 

 Tinubu frowned at the provision of the same section which says the prosecution of the offender must commence within two months after the offence is committed.

“This is untenable in a country where investigations often take longer than two months”, Tinubu stated.

“Considering the shortage of Police personnel, relative to our population as prescribed by international standards, the two months limitation is unlikely to be met at all.

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“With the development and innovation in forensic technology and the accessibility or otherwise of such infrastructure in Nigeria, rushed investigations with a view to commencing prosecutions within a two month period leave a possibility of a huge margin for error,” the lawmaker posited.

The bill also seeks to amend section 221 of the Criminal Code which provides that “where a person has or attempts carnal knowledge of a girl being of or above the age of thirteen and under the age sixteen, 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.”

It seeks the substitution for the words “idiot or imbecile” with “mentally challenged”.

Tinubu said while words like “idiot, moron, and imbecile” were professionally used to measure IQ, they have become derogatory and obsolete, and should therefore be jettisoned in Nigerian laws. 

The Senate also reviewed Section 364 of the Criminal Code which prescribes punishment of imprisonment for a term of ten years for kidnapping. 

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The law under the Act defines kidnap as “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 compared the penalties for kidnapping alongside the term of robbery provided by the Criminal Code Act, which is twenty-one years and death for armed robbery.

She said, “why is the punishment for stealing property and replaceable things higher than what is obtainable when you steal a human being?”

“The frequency of kidnap across the federation and its resulting trauma, not to mention the number of lives lost to the crime, make it imperative to review our laws with a view to ensuring appropriate punishment for perpetrators and deterrence for would-be perpetrators,” she added.

The bill received positive contributions from several senators and was unanimously passed after a voice vote.

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, subsequently referred the bill to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters for further legislative work.

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