New Law: Death penalty & surgical castration for rapists in Northern Nigeria

The governor of Nigeria's Kaduna state has signed a law saying men convicted of rape will face surgical castration.

Anyone raping a child under age 14 will face the death penalty under the new legislation. It follows public anger over a recent increase of rapes amid Covid-19 restrictions, which prompted the nation's state governors to declare a state of emergency. Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai said the 'drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime'. 

Reported cases of rape in Nigeria have risen dramatically during the months of coronavirus restrictions. The state's newly amended penal code also says a person convicted of raping someone over age 14 will face life imprisonment. The previous law carried a maximum penalty of 21 years' imprisonment for the rape of an adult and life imprisonment for the rape of a child. 

A woman convicted of rape of a child under 14 faces the removal of her fallopian tubes.