Nigerian senators took to the floor of the senate on Tuesday, July 9 to deliberate on the appropriate punishment for child rapists as incidents of sexual abuse against children keep rising in recent times.
The motion which was raised by Rose Okoh, senator representing Cross River north, sought a death penalty against child rapists. She argued that the senate had to put a deterrent to the high rate of rape crimes against children.
Contributing to the motion, senator Olurenmi Tinubu, representing Lagos central, pointed out that many vulnerable children fall victim to the offence, and agreed that the crime deserves a death sentence.
“Most of these acts are done by people living with the victims. They are mostly relatives. It is time we do the right thing to curb this menace,” she added.
Thompson Sekibo, senator representing Rivers east supported the motion and decried the nonchalant attitude of taking the issue of rape for granted.
“If a man commits sexual abuse on a six-month old baby, it is criminal. That person ought to be killed not to be sentenced,” he said.
“It has been happening in this country and perpetrators are not punished. The problem is, when issues are reported, people take it for granted.”
The senators went ahead to recommend that the federal government need to pass the child rights act bill into law to guard against sexual abuse against children and minors.
