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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed amendments to the Criminal Code Act prescribing life imprisonment for anyone convicted of sexually defiling a minor, with no option of fine.
The resolution followed the adoption of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a concurrent bill previously passed by the House of Representatives.
The bill seeks to strengthen child-protection laws by introducing stiffer penalties for sexual offenses against minors and removing gender bias in existing provisions. It also abolishes the statute of limitation on defilement cases, making such crimes prosecutable regardless of when they occurred.
Leading debate on the bill, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) emphasized the need to treat defilement separately from rape, stressing that minors lack the legal capacity to give consent.
He initially proposed a twenty-year prison term without an option of fine for offenders, describing child defilement as a grave crime that leaves victims permanently scarred.
“For a minor, this is a kid that is not capable of consenting or otherwise and whose life can be destroyed almost permanently. Those involved in defilement should suffer great punishment,” Oshiomhole stated.
However, his proposal was overruled by the majority of senators, who backed an alternative amendment by Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central). Aliero argued that a life sentence would serve as a stronger deterrent and ensure equal punishment for offenders, regardless of gender.
“I want to propose that the punishment for defilement of minors be life imprisonment, whether it’s a man or woman found culpable,” Aliero said.
The Senate thereafter adopted Aliero’s amendment, making life imprisonment the new mandatory penalty for sexual defilement of minors in Nigeria.
In addition, the amendment redefines rape to include both male and female perpetrators and prescribes a minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment for offenders. A brief controversy arose during deliberations over a clause relating to abortion, but the Senate leadership intervened to halt further debate once the bill was stepped down.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights for further scrutiny, with a report expected within two weeks.