Persons tried and convicted for rape in Kogi State will now go to jail for life, as members of the state’s House of Assembly have finally passed the Violence Against Persons Prohibition bill.
Kogi State thus joins the list of 20 states that have enacted the same law to check violence against women.
The bill, which stipulates life imprisonment for rapists, scaled through the first reading on December 3, 2019, and second reading on February 19, 2020.
It was finally passed on Monday.
Sponsored by a non-governmental organisation, Challenged Parenthood Initiative, the Bill followed a report of the House Joint Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Judiciary.
The Speaker of the House, Mathew Kolawole, described rape as a grievous offence that should be condemned in its entity, adding that the passage of this bill and its assent by the state Governor, Yahaya Bello, would send a strong warning to anyone who intends to perpetrate the ungodly act.