The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday demanded the highest penalty for rapists in the country, with a specific focus on cases involving minors.
This was part of the resolutions reached during the plenary in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Senator Rose Okoh who represents Cross River North Senatorial District raised a motion as a matter of urgent public importance on the worrying rate of rape of minors.
In their separate contributions, some senators decried how issues of rape were being handled by the police.
They, however, demanded that reports of such cases should also be sent to the Senate for prompt action.
The lawmakers, also agreed that relevant laws be amended to reflect the heaviest punishments for rapists, with the hope that it could serve as a deterrent.
In a related development, the Senate further urged the state governments to domesticate the Child Rights Act and Violence Against Persons Act in their different states, as a means of bringing perpetrators to book.
