To curb the high incidence of rape, some people have advocated the introduction of castration into Nigeria’s criminal code

Section 358 of the Nigerian criminal code provides that a convicted rapist should be kept behind bars for life while attempted rape is 14 years imprisonment. Similarly, section 218 approves life imprisonment for defilement of 13 years, 5 years, 2 years and 1 year old girls. One had expected these provisions to deter men who enjoy such criminal acts, but it has not. Raping of girls of all ages has been on the increase in recent times. Except in a few cases where outsiders were involved, close members of the family or people who the girls trusted were often the ones raping them.They could be the father, father’s friend, mother’s friend, an uncle, cousin, a neighbour, co-tenant and even a sibling. Rape could take the form of penetration, rubbing of the girl’s breasts, buttock, private parts and other things. Women who had been raped are often left disturbed emotionally and could remain so for a very long time. However, some are of the view that the provisions had not deterred people from committing the crime, hence the call for inclusion of castration in Nigeria’s criminal code. The proponents were quick to refer to some countries in Africa where castration had been used as punishment for the rapists. Castration has been proposed by the Zimbabwean parliament. The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Olivia Muchena told the parliament that rape should be treated like first degree murder and castration to be part of the punishment.