The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed a landmark bill prescribing life imprisonment for anyone male or female found guilty of sexually defiling minors, in a decisive move to curb the rising scourge of child sexual abuse across the country.

The bill’s passage followed extensive deliberations on the alarming increase in cases of paedophilia and child molestation, which have left countless victims traumatised and scarred for life.

Presenting the motion, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC–Edo North) stressed that the defilement of a child must be treated with greater severity than the rape of an adult, arguing that minors cannot give consent and suffer long-lasting physical and psychological damage.

“A minor is a child who cannot give consent and whose life can be permanently damaged by such an act. Those involved in defilement deserve severe punishment,” Oshiomhole said.
“I propose a 20-year penalty for anyone found guilty. There are disturbing cases involving children as young as five or ten.”

However, the Senate later voted for a harsher sentence, after Senator Muhammad Aliero (Kebbi Central) proposed life imprisonment as a more fitting punishment.

“I want to propose that the punishment for defilement of minors should be life imprisonment, regardless of the offender’s gender,” Aliero said.

His motion was strongly supported by Senator Solomon Adeola (Ogun West) and other lawmakers who maintained that only the maximum penalty could effectively deter potential offenders.

When Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the proposal to a voice vote, the “ayes” overwhelmingly carried the motion.

“I hereby move that henceforth, any man or woman who is guilty of defiling a minor should be sentenced to life imprisonment,” Akpabio declared.

A Response to Rising Child Abuse Cases

The legislation comes amid mounting public outrage over increasing reports of child sexual violence, many of which go unpunished due to weak enforcement and social stigma.

Over the past decade, several high-profile cases involving the rape of minors by relatives, teachers, and religious figures have triggered nationwide protests and calls for justice.

Rights groups have also documented an increase in sexual violence against children, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) reported a surge in child defilement cases.

If signed into law, the new legislation would replace existing provisions under Nigeria’s Criminal Code and Penal Code, which currently prescribe lighter sentences, often between 10 and 20 years’ imprisonment for offenders.

A Step Toward Justice and Deterrence

Lawmakers and child rights advocates have hailed the bill as a major step forward in protecting Nigerian children and ensuring that perpetrators of such heinous acts face the full weight of the law.

Observers say the next challenge will be strict enforcement and swift prosecution, as many cases of sexual violence still collapse in court due to poor investigation and lack of witness protection.

The bill now awaits transmission to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being sent to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

If enacted, it would mark one of Nigeria’s toughest legal measures yet in the fight against child sexual abuse.