Two Nigerians, Tosin Dada and Solomon Adebiyi, now face the possibility of life imprisonment for multiple rape charges after being convicted by a jury at the Northampton Crown Court in the United Kingdom.

It was gathered from Lawtons Solicitors, a UK-based law firm, and a feminist charity organisation, Rape Crisis (England & Wales), that under the UK’s Sexual Offences Act 2003, the maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment.

It was earlier reported that the Northamptonshire Police announced the conviction of the two Nigerians on its official Facebook page on Monday.

The conviction of Dada and Adebiyi follows weeks after a Nigerian pilot, Olukayode Ojo, was found guilty in a Texas court in the United States for making false statements to obtain a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Northamptonshire Police announced that the convicts, Dada and Adebiyi, had each been charged with three counts of rape related to a March 2022 incident, while claiming they had engaged in consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl.

However, the jury found these claims false, ruling against them and declaring both guilty.

“Tosin Dada, 34, previously of Knox Road, Wellingborough, and Solomon Adebiyi, 39, previously of Stanley Street, Northampton, were both charged with three counts of rape each in connection with the offence on March 12, 2022.

“Their nine-day trial at Northampton Crown Court ended last week with both men being found unanimously guilty by the jury on all charges after eight hours of deliberation.

“Both men were remanded into custody ahead of sentencing at Northampton Crown Court on October 25, 2024,” the police disclosed.

Lawtons noted that while the average prison sentence for rape ranges from four to 19 years, varying from case to case, there is no statutory minimum sentence for the crime.

“Generally, sentencing for rape convictions starts from four years imprisonment. This sentence would only be given for category three offences and it is also very rare to receive such a short sentence, given that the majority of rape convictions also include some degree of harm or culpability.

“The maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment. However, when using the term ‘sentenced for life’, it does not mean that someone will spend their whole life in prison. Instead, someone who is given a life sentence usually spends 15 years in prison.

“In these cases, the offenders will spend the rest of their lives on a life licence. This means they would immediately be called back to prison if they were to commit another crime,” the law firm stated on its website.

Our correspondent also learnt that the possibility of the convicted Nigerians bagging life imprisonment for the crime was possible, as mentioned on the official Rape Crisis (England & Wales) website.

“Rape is defined as someone with a penis penetrating another person’s vagina, anus, or mouth without consent and carries a maximum sentence of life in prison,” the feminist charity organisation stated.