Niger Assembly passes bill against rape

The Niger State House of Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill that prescribes a 21- year jail term for anybody convicted of raping.
The Chairman of Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Isah Kawu, moved the motion for the House to adopt the report of his committee on the bill.
Kawu said the bill was passed in a bid to stem the tide of rape in the state.
He said the bill was an improvement over the previous bill, which prescribed 14 years jail term with option of a fine.
The chairman said the new bill provided for a 21-year jail term without an option of a fine for a convict under the Sharia Penal code.
He said the passage of the bill would greatly stem the tide of rape cases in the state and serve as deterrent to rapists.
Kawu also said the bill made it an offence for any Muslim to marry more than four wives as provided by Holy Quran.
He said the offender risked severe punishment to be determined by the judge hearing the case.
He said: “In Islamic teaching, four wives is what has been accepted as a norm.
“We are creating a guide to ensure it is adhered to.”
He, however, said that the law was not applicable to non Muslims as the nature of the society would contradict the law.
The Speaker of the House, Hon. Adamu Usman, said the new Sharia Penal Code Law affirmed that whosoever was found to have raped a lady shall be liable to 21-year prison term on conviction.
Usman, however, said that anybody who had married more than four wives before the bill was passed would not be affected by the new law.