The Senate has approved life imprisonment for anyone convicted of defiling a minor, marking a major escalation from the previous five-year jail term under Nigeria’s Criminal Code.
The resolution followed the consideration of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which seeks to impose stiffer penalties for sexual and related offences. Lawmakers described the defilement of minors as a “heinous act capable of destroying a child’s life forever,” insisting that punishment must reflect the gravity of the crime.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who announced the resolution after a unanimous voice vote, declared, “The Senate has decided that any defilement of a minor in Nigeria henceforth attracts life imprisonment without an option of fine. Let everyone be aware.”
The bill, earlier passed by the House of Representatives and transmitted for concurrence, received bipartisan backing during plenary.
In addition, the Senate strengthened penalties for rape and related sexual offences, raising the minimum sentence from five to ten years imprisonment for any act of forced sexual intercourse involving a boy, girl, man, or woman.
Former Kebbi State Governor Adamu Aliero had proposed life imprisonment for rapists, but the chamber adopted ten years as the baseline, leaving discretion for judges to impose harsher sentences in aggravated cases.
The reworded clause also recognises both male and female victims—a reform inspired by contributions from former labour leader Adams Oshiomhole.
However, debate turned heated over provisions on abortion and pregnancy termination. While existing law criminalises abortion, several senators cautioned that overly broad language could endanger medical practitioners acting to save lives in emergencies.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) warned that vague phrasing could “expose doctors to prosecution even when they are saving patients.”
In response, Akpabio directed the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters to review the controversial clauses within two weeks and submit recommendations.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the utilisation of $4.6 billion in grants from the Global Fund and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for Nigeria’s campaigns against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and polio between 2021 and 2025.
The motion, sponsored by Philip Agbese (APC, Benue), was adopted during plenary presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
The House directed its Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Control to conduct the probe and report back within four weeks.
Agbese also disclosed that Nigeria received over $6 billion in health assistance from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) within the same period, yet the country still ranks among those with the highest global burden of the three diseases.
Lawmakers further mandated the Minister of Health and Social Welfare to provide details of the expenditure plan and implementation framework for the grants.
The House also engaged in a tense debate over a motion seeking to protect the Dangote Refinery and other key private investments from “unlawful and adversarial” labour union activities.
The motion, jointly sponsored by Alhassan Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano) and Abdulssamad Dasuki (PDP, Sokoto), followed a recent industrial dispute between PENGASSAN and the Dangote Refinery, which temporarily halted operations and led to a daily loss of about 200,000 barrels of crude oil over three days.
Doguwa described the $20 billion refinery as a strategic national asset, warning that repeated disruptions could undermine investor confidence.
However, Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers) urged caution, insisting that the House must first investigate the circumstances before taking enforcement action.
As debate intensified, Ahmadu Jaha (APC, Borno) proposed that the House leadership personally mediate between Dangote Group and PENGASSAN through alternative dispute resolution. His amendment received overwhelming support.
The House subsequently mandated Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and the leadership to engage both parties in dialogue and drop earlier prayers compelling ministries to enforce provisions of the NEPZA Act.
