Taraba Assembly Approves Death Penalty For Rapists

BY AMEH IDUJAGI, JALINGO – The Taraba State House of Assembly on Wednesday passed the Discrimination Violence against persons prohibition Bill 2021 into law.

The new law proposes death sentence for anyone who has canal knowledge of a child and life imprisonment for transgenders respectively in the state.

Speaker of the State House of Assembly Dr Joseph Albasu Kunini, who is the sponsored of the Bill, said that as leaders, the legislators have the moral responsibility to protect members of public from gross moral decadence that was fast engulfing the world with grave consequences.

Kunini said; “Children who are most vulnerable and susceptible to devices of psychopaths must be protected at all cost and l assure you that the House would do everything to protect them and other vulnerable sections of the society.

“Today, I feel highly elated that after painstaking and elaborate consideration and panel beating, this Bill has now become a law and has given us a legal instrument that would protect the people against violence and discrimination in line with emerging trends a current realities. This is a revolution in Taraba State.

“One of the most beautiful things about this law is that, it is able to tackle issues that existing laws did not address or were not sufficiently covered, thereby making it easier for the relevant authorities to give justice to those who feel violated or discriminated against,” he explained.

Part of the recommendation of the committee read that; “Anybody who has a canal knowledge of a minor shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to death. If the offender is less than 14 years, they will be sentenced to a term of not more than 14years”.

Other provisions of the proposed Bill include a jail term for digital harassment, attempted rape, incest and other violence and discrimination against persons.

Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee for Public Hearing on the Violence and Discrimination against persons prohibition Bill 2021of the House, Hon. Mark Useni, had while presenting the report of the committee on Tuesday, said that the Bill has generated the highest level of interest in the state in recent times.

Useni noted that the report and recommendations made by the committee were a reflection of an elaborate interaction with critical stakeholders and members of the public.