Of course, worried Nigerians who were disturbed by the rising cases of rape were overjoyed that, at last, sexually abused Nigerians would get justice and that the Bill would go a long way in curbing rape and sexual offences. So amazed were Nigerians when more than 40 bills were hurriedly passed by the just-concluded 7th assembly. Thank goodness, the Sexual Offences Bill sailed through.
But unfortunately, Nigerians who were hoping to get a respite from the Bill got the biggest shock of their lives when it allowed sex with girls from the age of eleven. The Sexual Offences Bill, 2015, also stipulates life imprisonment for any individual found guilty of rape or sexual intercourse with children under 11 years; 10 years for incest; 10 years for child pornography or a fine of N2 million; and 14 years for sexual abuse, among others.
By a strange twist of fate, the same Senator Anyanwu, who won the hearts of Nigerians, has been slammed for being one of the minds in the just-concluded 7th assembly that passed the Bill that allows sex with girls from 11 years. Since the passage of this Bill, reactions have continued to trail the Bill from all quarters Among the most vociferous critics of the Bill has been Nobel laureate, Whole Soyinka, who has urged President Muhammad Bukhara to withhold his assent to the Sexual Offences Bill passed by the last National Assembly.
Last week, the Noble laureate said: “President Bukhara and here I make my first imposition on his presidency should never place his assent on such a nefarious distraction,” he said in a letter to the organizing committee of the June 12 Movement of Nigeria.
“Its implications doom the victim to afflictions that churn the stomach even to think of the human toll. Perhaps, those legislators think that vaginal fistula is something thought up by arm-chair critics with nothing better to occupy their minds. No matter, let those who profess a genuine concern declare their stand on this.
