By Uthman-Baba Naseer, Minna <\/p>\n
The Niger State Government has described the conviction and sentencing of three men for the rape of a minor in Kontagora Local Government Area as a major breakthrough in its fight against rape, child abuse, and other forms of sexual violence in the state.<\/p>\n
The Minna Senior Magistrate Court Four on Friday convicted and sentenced four men to a total of ninety five years behind correctional centre for gang raping a thirteen years old girl in Kontagora some times in 2023.<\/p>\n
Senior Magistrate Christy Umar Barau while passing her judgement described the act of the convicts as animalistic and heartless that doesn’t deserve the mercy of the court.<\/p>\n
She held that the act of the four convicts have put the teenager in a family way which has permanently traumatized her forever \u201c the offence of joint act and unlawful sexual intercourse with a child attract life jail. <\/p>\n
The court will be considerate as a result of the plea of the defense counsel that said they have shown remorse throughout their trial in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the case of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor is a serious in nature and the cases of rape is on the increase in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201c However,in view of the plea for leniency by the counsel, the court would not be seen as being fair if appropriate punishment is not meted to the convicts.<\/p>\n
\u201c The first, second and the third defendants are hereby convicted to twenty five years behind the correctional centre for the offence of joint act and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor with the payment of one million naira compensation to the teenager\u201d Senior Magistrate Christy Umar Barau held.<\/p>\n
The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Services, Hajiya Hadiza Idris Kuta, made this known while reacting to the court judgment, describing it as a victory for justice and a strong warning to perpetrators of sexual offences.<\/p>\n
Hajiya Hadiza Kuta who was at the court during the judgement saluted the courage of the senior Magistrate saying that she was impressed by the judgement of the court.<\/p>\n
She commended the trial senior Magistrate for the judgment, expressing hope that more convictions of sexual offenders would follow.<\/p>\n
According to her, the ministry is encouraged by the verdict and remains committed to ensuring that offenders are brought to justice.<\/p>\n
Hajiya Hadiza noted that punishment serves as a deterrent to criminal behaviour, stressing that the conviction sends a clear message to those involved in child molestation and other forms of sexual abuse that such crimes will no longer be tolerated.<\/p>\n
She said the three convicts were each sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and ordered to pay \u20a61 million compensation to the victim, describing the judgment as a positive step towards protecting children and vulnerable persons in the state.<\/p>\n
The commissioner lamented that, in the past, many suspects accused of similar offences were granted bail or escaped adequate punishment, but expressed optimism that the latest judgment would encourage more victims to seek justice.<\/p>\n
She reaffirmed the state’s determination to pursue cases of rape and child abuse to their logical conclusion, assuring residents that the government would continue to protect the rights and dignity of children.<\/p>\n
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the defendants, Barrister M. J. Lemu, commended the court for what he described as a balanced and fair decision.<\/p>\n
He explained that the offences for which the defendants were convicted ordinarily attract life imprisonment under the law. However, he said the court exercised its discretion by tempering justice with mercy in imposing a 25-year jail term.<\/p>\n
Barrister Lemu stated that he had no intention of appealing the judgment, noting that there were no sufficient legal grounds to challenge the court’s decision.<\/p>\n
He also praised the judge for the wisdom displayed in handling the case and prayed for greater knowledge and strength for the judiciary in dispensing justice.<\/p>\n
Similarly, counsel to the complainant Mohammed Ibrahim Esq.commended the judgment, saying it would serve as a strong deterrent to others involved in rape, child molestation and related offences.<\/p>\n
The three convicts Salisu Shehu, Lawali Sabi’u and Haruna Musa, all from Kontagora Local Government Area\u2014were each sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and ordered to pay \u20a61 million compensation to the victim. <\/p>\n
The judgment has been widely welcomed as a significant milestone in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence in Niger State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Uthman-Baba Naseer, Minna The Niger State Government has described the conviction and sentencing of three men for the rape of a minor in Kontagora Local Government Area as a major breakthrough in its fight against rape, child abuse, and other forms of sexual violence in the state. The Minna Senior Magistrate Court Four on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-law-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15041"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15057,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15041\/revisions\/15057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}