Jigawa State Government has approved death penalty for child rapists as prescribed by the child protection law has been enacted by state lawmakers.
The state Commissioner for Justice and the Attorney General, Dr Musa Adamu, disclosed this at a press briefing in Dutse, the state capital on Wednesday.
He said with the law, anyone convicted of raping a child below the age of 10 will be sentenced to death with no other option available.
He said the justice ministry had received “a total number of 196 case diaries while 178 pieces of legal advice were prepared in respect of the case diaries received.
“Out of the total number of the case diaries, 90 were rape cases; 27 culpable homicides; sodomy has 31; kidnapping and abduction have a total number of 18 cases; incest two; two 2 acts of gross indecency; 20 armed robberies while road traffic offences have two cases.”
The commissionewr said, “Earlier this year the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, signed the Violence Against Prohibition Bill which prescribed the death penalty for rapists but with the option of life imprisonment. But recently the government has also signed the child protection law which prescribed the death penalty for anyone that raped a child below the age of 10,” Dr Musa was quoted by Channels Television.
He said the ministry has prosecuted and defended a total number of 25 appeals before Court of Appeal, Kano Division, and has also completed the prosecution of 83 criminal trials before eight High Courts at Birnin Kudu, Dutse, Gumel Hadejia, Kazaure and Ringim.
He said they obtained 34 convictions and 49 defendants were discharged and acquitted.
Mr Adamu advocated for the use of technology to reduce the delay in criminal litigation which he says is one of the major challenges the judiciary is facing in the state.
