The Nigerian Senate has proposed life imprisonment for anyone convicted of defiling a minor, in what lawmakers described as a landmark step toward strengthening the nation’s child protection laws.
The proposal, contained in the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, also introduces tougher penalties for sexual offences, including a minimum 10-year sentence for rape.
Leading the debate on the floor, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the amendments were designed to “protect minors and eliminate gender discrimination in the prosecution of sexual crimes.”
Under the current Criminal Code, defilement attracts a five-year sentence. The proposed change would upgrade the penalty to life imprisonment with no option of fine.
Clause 2(1) of the bill also outlines a 10-year minimum jail term for anyone found guilty of detaining another person for the purpose of forced sexual activity, whether in a brothel or any other location.
“Any person who detains a man or boy, a girl or a woman against his or her will in any premises in order to have unlawful carnal knowledge of him or her commits a felony,” the clause reads.
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The House of Representatives had earlier passed a concurrent version of the bill, which now awaits harmonisation before final approval.
Despite broad support across party lines, the Senate stepped down the bill after a heated debate over a controversial abortion-related clause. Lawmakers cited the need for further clarification due to religious and ethical concerns.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced that the bill had been referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights for further consideration, with a report expected within two weeks.
A brief moment of drama unfolded after Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to reopen discussion on the withdrawn abortion clause. Former Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole quickly raised a point of order, reminding his colleagues that parliamentary rules forbid reopening a matter once it has been ruled upon.
“If a matter has been stepped down and ruled upon, it is out of order to reopen it,” Oshiomhole said.
In response, Akpabio upheld the point of order, ruling Akpoti-Uduaghan out of order. “I’m not a spirit to know what she wanted to say,” the Senate President quipped, before moving the session forward.
The Judiciary and Human Rights Committee is expected to review the clauses and return with a refined version of the amendment bill. If approved, the legislation would mark one of Nigeria’s strongest legal measures yet against child sexual abuse and gender-based violence.