Rape of six-month-old girl: Kano govt pushes for life imprisonment

The Kano State Government, says it would ensure that whoever is found involved in the reported rape of a six-month-old girl in Kano, goes to jail for life.
The government said it was deeply saddened by the news of the rape allegedly committed by a close confidant of the victim’s family.
The government’s stand is contained in a statement issued in Kano on Saturday by the state Commissioner of Information, Mohammed Garba.
The statement said Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje had directed the state Ministry of Justice to prosecute “whoever is involved in this sordid sexual crime”.
The statement described the act as despicable, dastardly and condemnable, “which is alien to our religious and cultural values”.
The government said the action clearly portrayed the perpetrator as brutal and unfeeling, adding that the culprit deserved nothing more than the maximum penalty under the law.
The statement said the government would settle the medical bill of the victim and advised parents to monitor the movement of their wards and those they keep company with.
It urged religious leaders to use their places of worship to propagate the dangers of such crime and other social vices in the society.
The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that Section 283 of Kano State Penal Code Amendment Law provides life imprisonment as maximum punishment for rape.
The law also provides option of imprisonment of not less than 14 years, a fine of N200,000 and payment of compensation to the victim.(NAN)