When lawmakers erred on Sexual Offence Act

•As 7th Senate Act covers only children under age 11

NATHANIEL AKHIGBE & IRUMEKHAI SHARON

The dust raised by the last minute parlia- mentary politics by Nigeria’s 7th Nation- al Assembly Senators that saw the passage of 46 bills into law in less than 10 muni- ties, including a life sentence recommended for persons who commit rape and sexual offens- es against children under age 11 may not settle anytime soon as more Nigerians, including chil- dren continue to question the rationale behind an Act which seeks to remove ages 12 and 13 from the category of children.

The Sexual Offense Bill, sponsored by Chris Anyanwu (Imo East), who was chairper- son, committee on Defense, Navy, among others, prescribes life imprisonment for gang rape, 10 years for incest and 10 years imprisonment for child pornography or more, and a fine of N2 million; life imprisonment for sexual inter- course with children, but only acknowledges children to be persons less than 11 years.

Those who spoke with BD SUNDAY said the Act should be rejected since it does not provide protection for children between age 12 to 16 and that the clause implicitly endorses child marriage.

It will be recalled that some time ago, there was a contro- versy over an alleged marriage to a 13-year old Egyptian girl by Ahmed Yerima, a senator from Zamfara State.

Although the lawmaker denied that the girl was 13 years old, several groups called for his prosecution for violating the Child Rights Act. The Child’s Rights Act 2003, which Nigeria is signatory to, defines a child as a person who has not attained the age of 18 and prohibits the betrothal and marriage of a child.

Ambiguity of the constitu- tion regarding adulthood The ambiguity of the 1999 constitution regarding who is a child also complicated matters when some legislators wanted certain clause to be removed in July 2013 in order to adequate- ly protect the Nigerian Child.

Controversy set in when some members of the Senate considered Section 29, which deals with renunciation of citizenship for amendment.

Section 29(1) provides, “any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for the renunciation.”Section 29(4) (a) and (b) pro- vides, “for the purposes of sub- section (1) of this section: (a) ‘full age’ means the age of 18 years and above; (b) any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.

Senator Yerima had raised an objection on the ground that the removal of the provi- sion was ‘un-Islamic,’ citing Second Schedule, Part 1, Item 61 of the constitution, known as ‘Exclusive Legislative List,’ which states ‘the formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic law and custom- ary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto.’

The amendment was con- sequently put to vote again and those who had earlier supported the removal could not muster the two-thirds ma- jority votes required to seal the removal.

The latest controversial bill was one of the 46 bills that the David Mark led 7th Senate passed into law on June 3, 2015. Senator Ita Enang, (APC-Akwa Ibom North-East), who is chair- man, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, had urged the Senate to suspend Order 79 (1) of the Senate Standing Orders while moving a mo- tion and deemed all the bills as having passed first, second and third readings on the floor of the Senate and concurred to same before they were passed.

Order 79 (1) of the Senate Standing Order, stipulates that all bills should go through first, second and third readings be- fore passage.

Ita Enang asked the Senate to invoke Order 1 (b) to adopt a special procedure on the bills. From left: Afikunyomi, Aishat Oshinowo & Kelechuk- wu were among the students who paid a courtesy call to BusinessDay School children reject the Act School children in Lagos re- jected the Act vehemently.

The Apapa-based Priscila School children, who pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari not to assent to the bill when it gets to his desk, were on a courtesy visit to BusinessDay corporate office in Apapa.

Ten years old Kelechukwu Emmanuel, who is in Grade Five, said Nigerian mothers should call for a resistance of any attempt by the legislators to impose a law that he said would not protect children under ages 12 to 16.

“If the lawmakers cannot extend the age coverage of the law to 16 years old, Nigerian children should collectively reject its passage. 12 to 16 years old are children too. Some people will now take undue advantage to abuse children who are 12 and 13 years and they can escape punishment,” he said.

Aishat Oshinowo, 10, Grade Five student, complained that the Act will expose children who are 12 and 13 to sexual abuses and early marriage.

She said adults who married minors should be tried in the court of law and jailed.

“The law is a bad one. It dis- criminates against some chil- dren. How can our lawmakers allow a law that removed ages 12 and 13 from the category of children?” Adults who love to marry children should be in prison,” she said.

Oluwafikunyomi Oyekan, 9, who is in Grade Four, said there are several reasons every Nigerian must stand against the law which he described as ‘anti-children’.

“The womb of 12 and 13 years old girl is too young to carry a baby. They may also die while trying to have children. Abuses may also stop them from going to school and yet, their abusers can go unpun-ished because of this law. All Nigerians including President Buhari must not allow this hap- pen to us,” he said.

Ameachi Pascal, education- ist consultant, Priscila School, who permitted the pupils to grant the interview, told BD SUNDAY that it appears that the lawmakers did not sit down to consider the categories of children or the characteristics of the age range of children before passing the bill.

“Because there is no way you can take away 12 and 13 years old from the range of childhood; meaning that these persons are still regarded as children. Therefore, whichever law that is guiding the Nigerian Child should be applicable to them,” he said.

According to him, if for any selfish reasons members of the Senate decides to pass the bill into act, the President should not give his assent to the bill, warning that children should not be left out in the current “high hope” in the country fol- lowing the emergence of a new government.

It is ‘Act’ of wickedness – Nigerian mothers

Sherifat Babah Sulola, an elite Nigerian mother, told BD SUNDAY that even teenagers are not mature enough to be sexually active in all ramifica- tions; physically, psychologi- cally and emotionally.

“The teenager is still under- going the process of develop- ment and maturity. That is why you find high rates of pregnancy and complicated issues amongst teenagers. It is wickedness; the lawmakers are only trying to satisfy their selfish desires to go about de- vouring innocent girls. The law should cover under 18 children,” she said.

Adaobi Obuekwe, a practis- ing nurse and a mother, stated in an interview with BD SUN- DAY that all minors (persons under 18) should be protected by the law and not only chil- dren under age 11.

Aliyu Priscilla, a staff of Ni- gerian Ports Authority (NPA) and a mother, said that children under age 13 are practically mi- nors and still in primary school in some cases.

“These girls are vulnerable, inexperience and defenseless. If the law is not rejected as soon as possible, our nation will ex- perience chaos in terms of un- wanted pregnancies, unwanted babies, increase in sexually transmitted diseases and so on. I am in total support as a mother and a woman in reject- ing the in-human law passed by the lawmakers in the 7th Senate,” she told BD SUNDAY.

Musa Abubakar, a father, said: “It is totally unacceptable and I condemn it in strong term. The law should be encompass- ing as far as the law guiding children international is con- cern. The Sexual Offense Act of the 7th Senate is rejected by me, it is totally condemnable.”

CISLAC and CRGI enrage by the Act But Auwal Ibrahim Musa, acting general secretary, West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF), & executive direc- tor, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), told BD SUNDAY that the law will eventually not stand since one chamber in a legislative assem- bly cannot pass a bill into law without the other concurring or having its own version and also do a harmonization.

“If you understand legisla- tive procedures and processes, one chamber cannot pass a bill without concurring with the version of the other chamber. The law cannot go anywhere if the other chamber does not adopt it; it is just a waste of time”, he said.

He said what members of the 7th Senate did by passing ‘hurried bills’ should not be commended in any regard, and that for them to rush and pass a higher volume of bills into law within a short period of time even when they know the legislative processes and proce- dures of doing so, was an attack on the country’s democracy.

“They are supposed to set up harmonization conference, adopt the report, get the legal department to work on it, then get the Clerk of the National Assembly to work on the ad- ministrative process and pass it to the President to review and also assent or reject. You cannot do it as ambush. Some of the bills they passed now have been with them for four to eight years. What could the Senators be trying to achieve by passing such bills within a week of their departure? How the bills were passed is ques- tionable. As far as Nigerians are concerned this is not good because they had all the time to do a good job but they were not interested,” he lamented.

He said further that it was now left to the Executive arm of government and the stake- holders to send a fresh bill on the subject to the 8th National Assembly to conclude a thor- ough legislation since the life of the 7th Assembly has ended on the 9th of June.

Nelson Ekujumi, executive director, Centre for Rights and Grassroots Initiative (CRGI), told BD SUNDAY that it was important for Nigerians to look at the law and its shortcomings in not providing protection for children who are above eleven years from sexual assaults while reiterating that the law will not stand the test of time.

“Nigerians should be ready to bring the matter to the 8th National Assembly in order to comprehensively take care of the right of the Nigerian Child in line with the International Convention of which Nigeria is a signatory”, he said.

According to him, the sign- ing of 46 bills into law within ten munities by the 7th Senate is: “the height of irresponsibil- ity; is the height of legislative rascality.

That our legislators can sit down and sign 46 bills into law in ten munities means that the business of legislating in Nigeria has become like a beer parlor business. I can’t just rationalise it. This is Guinness Book of Record. Are they aware that the world is watching us? Honestly, this country is a banana republic because there is no other way to describe it. And these people are still tell- ing us that they have done well. They should bury their heads in shame for that humiliation they gave to Nigerians because it is an international disgrace for us. It portrays us as an un- serious country”.

NATHANIEL AKHIGBE & IRUMEKHAI SHARON