By Wole Mosadomi
Minna — A Minna Senior Magistrate Court No. 4 has sentenced four men to a total of 95 years imprisonment after finding them guilty of gang-raping and impregnating a 13-year-old girl.
The convicts are Salisu Shehu Baura, Lawali Shaibu, Haruna Musa Saidu and Bello, all of Kontagora town in Niger State.
One of them, Bello, who was sentenced in absentia, is now at large after being granted bail.
They were arrested by operatives of the Kontagora Divisional Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and brought to the state command headquarters for prosecution.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) made available in court and obtained by journalists, the convicts were arraigned on counts of joint act and unlawful sexual intercourse with a child. The offences are punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Law and Section 26(1) of the Child Rights Law of Niger State, 2023.
They were said to have taken turns raping the underage girl under threat and gave her N 1,400 afterwards.
During the trial, the prosecutor called three witnesses, including the victim, her father and the investigating Civil Defence officer. Five exhibits were tendered.
Among the evidence presented were the video-recorded statements of the convicts, their written statements, the victim’s statement, the medical report confirming penetration, and the voice recording of the convicts.
The presiding Senior Magistrate, Christy Umar Barau, who delivered the judgment, described the convicts’ act as “animalistic and heartless.”
She recalled that sometime in 2023, the same convicts were arraigned by the Niger State Command of the NSCDC for gang-raping a 13-year-old girl in Kontagora.
Defence counsel Mohammed Jibrin Lemu had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the convicts had shown remorse throughout the trial.
While delivering her judgment, Christy Umar Barau said: “Though the convicts really showed remorse throughout the trial, that does not mean they should go unpunished.
“The case of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child is a serious offence, especially as incidents of rape are on the increase.
“The act of these convicts is animalistic, inhuman and heartless. The court will therefore not be fair to the victim if appropriate punishment is not imposed on them to serve as a deterrent to others.
“The first, second and third convicts are hereby convicted and sentenced to 20 years in correctional custody for the offence of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child and five years for the offence of joint act, while the fourth convict, now at large, is to serve 20 years for the offence of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child,” she ruled.
Meanwhile, the state government has described the judgment as a major breakthrough in its fight against rape, child abuse and other forms of sexual violence.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Services, Hajiya Hadiza Idris Kuta, while reacting to the judgment, said: “It is a victory for justice and a strong warning to perpetrators of sexual offences.”
