Comprehensive Legal Analysis: The 2025 Criminal Code Amendment and the Unresolved Implementation Gap in Nigeria’s Child Protection Regime
Introduction
On 21 October 2025 the Nigerian Senate approved amendments to the Criminal Code Act prescribing life imprisonment (no fine) for anyone convicted of defiling a minor and strengthening penalties for sexual offences against children. While politically important, this move largely restates protections already contained in the Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003, which criminalizes sexual intercourse with a child and prescribes life imprisonment for such offences. The recurring problem is not the absence of law but the fragmented domestication of the CRA, divergent criminal codes across states, weak enforcement structures, and political/cultural resistance that together leave children insufficiently protected.
The bill:
- Redefines rape to include both male and female perpetrators;
- Removes the statute of limitation for defilement;
- Deletes gender bias in rape definitions (Section 357);
- Sets a ten-year minimum for rape and life imprisonment for defilement.
While the move has been widely reported as a major stride toward child protection, a closer legal examination reveals that these provisions are not new innovations, but replications of existing protections already enshrined in the Child Rights Act, 2003 (CRA) specifically, Section 31.
What the Child Rights Act Already Provides
Section 31 of the CRA provides as follows:
(1) No person shall have sexual intercourse with a child.
(2) A person who contravenes this provision commits the offence of rape and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.
(3) It is immaterial that:
(a) The offender believed the person to be of or above eighteen years; or
(b) The sexual intercourse was with the consent of the child.
Thus, life imprisonment for defilement has been the law since 2003, at least federally. The supposed “innovation” in the 2025 amendment is, therefore, a legislative restatement, not a reform. The real issue is non-implementation, not legislative absence.
Federalism and the Problem of Domestication
Nigeria operates a federal system and criminal law falls largely within the jurisdiction of states. The Child Rights Act was passed by the National Assembly in 2003, but constitutionally, it applies only in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) unless adopted (or domesticated) by each state legislature.
Over 20 years later, not all states have domesticated the CRA, and among those that have, many altered or watered-down key provisions. Some changed the definition of a “child,” excluded controversial clauses like age of marriage, or left out sections dealing with corporal punishment and child labour.
Thus, what Nigeria has is not a uniform national child protection law, but a patchwork of 37 variations the CRA in the FCT and a range of modified versions across the states.
The Dual Criminal System: Criminal Code vs. Penal Code
Nigeria’s criminal justice system is divided between two colonial-era legacies:
- The Criminal Code (applicable in the South), and
- The Penal Code (applicable in the North).
Both prescribe penalties for sexual offences, but differ in language, definitions, and often in severity. The 2025 amendment affects only the Criminal Code, which applies to the southern states. The Penal Code, which governs most northern states, remains untouched, meaning that even if the amendment becomes law, its reach will not be national.
This division continues to undermine the development of a coherent, nationwide framework for protecting children from sexual offences.
Weak Implementation and Institutional Gaps
Beyond legislative inconsistencies lies a deeper, systemic failure of enforcement:
- Poor investigative capacity: Police often lack training in child-sensitive investigation. Cases are mishandled, evidence is lost, and survivors are retraumatized.
- Inadequate victim support: There are insufficient shelters, psychosocial services, or witness protection mechanisms for child survivors.
- Cultural resistance and stigma: Deep-rooted norms discourage victims and families from reporting offences, while communities often shield perpetrators.
In short, law enforcement lacks both the structure and the will to make the law meaningful.
The Danger of Legislative Recycling
The 2025 amendment is a classic case of legislative recycling, the re-enactment of existing laws under a new name or section without addressing why the original law is not being implemented strictly. While symbolic gestures may generate headlines, they do not change outcomes.
Without tackling the implementation deficit, Nigeria risks continuously passing “new” laws that mirror old ones, celebrating motions that lead to no movement. Real reform lies not in passing more laws, but in enforcing the ones we already have.
What Must Be Done
To move from legislative symbolism to practical safeguarding, Nigeria must pursue a three-pronged strategy: harmonization, enforcement, and accountability.
- Harmonization of Legal Frameworks
- National coordination: Establish a National Council on Child Rights Implementation under the Federal Ministry of Justice to standardize CRA enforcement across states.
- State harmonization: Encourage states with separate child laws to align definitions, penalties, and procedures with the federal CRA.
- Penal Code amendment: Introduce equivalent provisions in the Penal Code to eliminate regional discrepancies in punishment for sexual offences against minors.
- Strengthening Enforcement
- Specialized police units trained in child protection and forensic investigation should be established in every state.
- Family and child courts must be set up as mandated by the CRA to ensure child-sensitive adjudication.
- Dedicated prosecution teams for sexual offences should be created in every Ministry of Justice.
- Shelters and victim-support systems should be properly funded and coordinated through state Ministries of Women Affairs.
- Accountability and Incentives
- Tie federal grants and budgetary allocations to measurable implementation milestones such as the establishment of family courts, operational child-protection units, and published prosecution statistics.
- Mandate annual implementation reports from each state to the National Assembly on CRA enforcement.
- Strengthen civil society oversight, empowering NGOs and professional bodies to monitor and report compliance.
The Cultural Dimension
Laws alone cannot protect children if the culture normalizes silence, shame, or complicity. Social and religious leaders must lead a moral and cultural reorientation that frames child protection as both a legal and spiritual duty. Education, advocacy, and community-based interventions must accompany legal enforcement.
Conclusion
The Senate’s October 2025 amendments are an important public commitment. But Nigeria has already had the strongest statutory protections for children in the CRA since 2003. The enduring problem is implementation, harmonisation and enforcement across a federal system with multiple legal regimes and entrenched social norms. Turning law into safety requires political will, targeted funding, capacity building, an empowered coordination mechanism, and transparent measurement. Without those, life sentences on paper will not translate into safer childhoods in practice
References:
- “Senate passes life imprisonment for child defilement” — Punch (Oct 22, 2025) Punch Newspaper
- “Nigeria: Senate Passes Bill Proposing Life Imprisonment …” — AllAfrica (Oct 22, 2025). allAfrica.com
- Child Rights Act Section 31 (CRA 2003).
- “Senate passes life imprisonment for child defilement” — Punch (Oct 22, 2025). Punch Newspapers https://naltf.gov.ng/senate-approves-life-imprisonment-for-child-defilement/
