A man has been sentenced to death in Kaduna for raping a two-year-old girl to death.
According to a report, Justice Kabir Dabo of the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Dogarawa Sabon Gari, Zaria, sentenced Usman Shehu Bashir on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
The convict’s death sentence relied on Section 221 of the Penal Code, Kaduna State law 1999 (as amended).
Bashir had confessed to the crime of luring the child, identified as Fatima, and raping her for 40 minutes, leading to her death. The incident took place in 2015.
Sexual crimes have attracted national attention over the past week after the high-profile rape and murder of Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year-old first year student of the University of Benin.
The Jigawa State Police Command also announced the arrest of 11 men who had, at different times and on many occasions, allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl.
This was then followed by the rape and murder of Barakat Bello, 18, at the home she shared with her family on Monday, June 1.
Many Nigerians have called for stiffer penalties for rapists, as well as the faithful implementation of current laws.
During plenary on Tuesday, June 2, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, called on State Assemblies to amend the penal and criminal code to deter rapists with stiffer penalties.
“We stand together shoulder to shoulder on this, and I think we need to make the penalties for rape stiffer to be sufficient deterrent for those who are involved in this, or who even desire to be involved,” he said.
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