Frustrated and angered by the state’s rising cases of rape of minors, Kaduna State House of Assembly and Governor Nasir el-Rufai have amended the state’s rape law to provide for castration and execution of offenders. It is a drastic solution to a drastic and unremitting problem. In Kaduna, minors are defined as those below the age of 14.
Rape does not just involve the issue of consent, it also involves the issue of age, especially the controversy surrounding who is a minor or an adult. However, given the disturbing incidence of rape in Nigeria, assuming the age of consent problem can be resolved, there is urgent need for states to reassess their half-hearted campaigns against rape. Kaduna State has taken the bull by the horns, and has shown a determination to put its money where its mouth is.
Kaduna seems to lack the patience of drafting laws that take cognisance of both the short and long run, not to say conforming with global standards. It is true Pakistan, the United States, and one or two European Union countries have flirted with castration, particularly voluntary or chemical castration, but it is doubtful whether Kaduna has availed itself of the benefits of the arguments for or against extreme, irreversible punishments for the crime.