The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja’s Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi sentenced 36-year-old Laminu Ahmed to life in prison on Thursday for raping a seven-year-old girl.
Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, won the conviction.
In her ruling, the trial judge concluded that the prosecution, led by Mrs. Yewande Awopetu of the Federal Ministry of Justice’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence unit, had successfully proven the case.
On January 3, 2023, the defendant invited the victim (name withheld) to bring him a plate of food from her mother’s food stand at the Zuba Fruit Market in Abuja.
He then enticed her to accompany him to a public restroom in the market.
As soon as she stepped through the door, he locked it and then began to rape and sexually torture her, kissing her violently and sticking his fingertip into her vagina before starting with his penis.
When she tried to scream, he covered her mouth with his hands and threatened to kill her if she told anybody.
However, upon her return, the young girl told her mother about the rape. At the time of the occurrence, the mother had gone to a friend’s naming ceremony.
She and the father informed the local vigilante about the situation right away, and he took the defendant into custody before turning him over to the police. At the Zuba Police Station and the FCT Command, where the case was subsequently transferred, the defendant admitted to the crime.
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Prosecutors from the Federal Ministry of Justice’s SGBV Response Unit (acting on behalf of the AGF) charged the defendant with eight counts of sexual abuse and unlawful sexual contact with a child under the Child Rights Act; rape, intimidation, and infliction of bodily harm under the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act 2015; and criminal force under the Penal Code.
However, the defendant entered a not guilty plea to all eight counts upon arraignment in June 2023.
In order to establish its case against the defendant, the prosecution called witnesses, produced evidence, including the defendant’s confessional statement and video, the investigation’s report and medical records, and the victim’s and her mother’s statements to the police as evidence of the investigation.
Laminu was found guilty and condemned for the horrible crime he performed against the seven-year-old survivor, despite his fruitless attempts to deny giving the confessional statement and his assertion that he was coerced into confessing.
In their battle against the evil of sexual assault in our society, Awopetu called it a victory for the Justice Sector, namely the SGBV Response Unit working with the FCT Police Command’s Gender Unit and the FCT Judiciary.
“It is also a warning to would-be perpetrators that the long arm of the law will catch up with them. A key lesson for parents in this case is never to leave their kids unattended in a public place.
“Laminu Ahmed’s name will be included in the Sexual Offender’s Register as is required by law,” she said.
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