An 80-year-old man, Ya’u Abdullahi, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on Monday by a Federal High Court in Kano for sexually exploiting an eight-year-old girl.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Kano Command had arraigned Abdullahi, a resident of Layin Gidan Mai Unguwar Brigade Quarters Nassarawa Local Government, on charges of sexual exploitation.
Justice S M Shu’aibu found the prosecution’s case to be proven beyond a 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, Kano Metropolitan, had reported the incident to NAPTIP on August 27.
The defendant was accused of committing the crime on August 26, 2024, at around 8:00 p.m at Murtala Market Nassarawa Local Government Kano.
Babale stated that Abdullahi had lured the eight-year-old girl into a secluded area at Murtala Market and molested her.
The prosecution presented the defendant’s confessional statement and the victim’s testimony, both in Hausa and English, to support their case.The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge.
The prosecution argued that the offense violated Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, and was punishable under Section 26(1) of the same act.
Defense counsel Hajiya Fatima Chabir pleaded for leniency on behalf of Abdullahi.
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