The House of Representatives has passed, for the second reading, a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to ensure that pregnant women convicted of offences punishable by death serve life imprisonment instead.
Sponsored by Rep. Babajimi Benson, the bill aims to preserve the lives of innocent unborn babies of such convicted women.
During the debate, Benson explained that the proposed legislation seeks to alter Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution by inserting a new subsection. This new subsection stipulates that if a pregnant woman is convicted of a capital offence, the court shall sentence her to life imprisonment instead of the death penalty.
The bill was passed and referred to the Committee on Constitution Amendment for further legislative actions.