Kano, Nigeria (TheGavel) – A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced an 80-year-old man, Ya’u Abdullahi, to seven years imprisonment for sexually exploiting an eight-year-old girl.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Kano Command had arraigned Abdullahi on charges of sexual exploitation. Justice S M Shu’aibu found the prosecution’s evidence to be beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced Abdullahi to seven years in prison without the option of a fine.
According to the prosecution, led by Kano Zonal Commander Abdullahi Babale, the Vigilante Group of Nigeria reported the incident to NAPTIP on August 27. The defendant was accused of luring the eight-year-old girl to a secluded area in Murtala Market and molesting her on August 26.
The prosecution presented the defendant’s confessional statement and the victim’s testimony, both in English and Hausa, to support their case. Abdullahi pleaded guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor argued that the defendant’s actions violated Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, and were punishable under Section 26(1) of the same act.
Defense counsel Hajiya Fatima Chabir pleaded for leniency on behalf of Abdullahi. However, the court upheld the prosecution’s case and imposed the seven-year sentence. (NAN)
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