Abuja — The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed a landmark amendment to the Criminal Code Act, prescribing life imprisonment for anyone convicted of sexually defiling a minor — with no option of fine.
The passage followed the adoption of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, a concurrent legislation earlier approved by the House of Representatives. The new bill strengthens child-protection laws by imposing stiffer penalties for sexual offenses against minors, abolishing gender bias in existing provisions, and removing the statute of limitation on defilement cases.
Under the amended law, defilement cases can now be prosecuted at any time, regardless of when the crime occurred.
Leading the debate, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) urged lawmakers to treat defilement as a distinct offense from rape, noting that minors lack the legal capacity to give consent. He initially proposed a 20-year jail term without the option of fine, describing child defilement as a “grave crime that leaves victims permanently scarred.”
“For a minor, this is a kid that is not capable of consenting or otherwise and whose life can be destroyed almost permanently. Those involved in defilement should suffer great punishment,” Oshiomhole said.
However, his proposal was overruled after Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) moved an alternative amendment prescribing life imprisonment as a stronger deterrent and equal punishment for offenders, irrespective of gender.
“I want to propose that the punishment for defilement of minors be life imprisonment, whether it’s a man or woman found culpable,” Aliero argued.
Following extensive debate, the Senate adopted Aliero’s amendment, making life imprisonment the mandatory penalty for anyone found guilty of sexually defiling a child in Nigeria.
Additionally, the amendment redefines rape to include both male and female perpetrators and prescribes a minimum sentence of ten years imprisonment for offenders.
A brief controversy emerged during discussions over a clause related to abortion, but the Senate leadership intervened, stepping down the section to prevent further division.
The bill has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights for further legislative scrutiny, with a report expected within two weeks before its final passage.
If signed into law, the new amendment will mark a major step forward in Nigeria’s fight against child sexual abuse and gender-based violence.
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