Court jails man 15 years for raping seven-year-old

A Bauchi State High Court presided over by the state Chief Judge, Justice Rabi Umar, has sentenced a middle-aged man to 15 years imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl.

The accused, Adamu Abdullahi, was arraigned before the court by the state Director of Public Prosecutions, Dauda Yakubu, for raping a minor (name withheld), an offence said to be contrary to Section 282 of the criminal law and punishable under Section 283 with up to life imprisonment.

In her judgement, Umar said the accused was found guilty on the ground that his voluntary confessional statement corroborated with the oral evidence tendered by the victim.

The victim explained how the convict forced her into his room and had unlawful canal knowledge of her as a result of which she was injured in her private parts.

Umar said the result of a medical examination confirmed the injury she sustained in her private parts as a result of the rape.

After a plea for leniency by the counsel to the accused, Dahiru Abdulhamid, Umar sentenced the accused to 15 years imprisonment from the date he was arraigned in court on March 5, 2012. The justice also fined the convict N3,000.