Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A 36 year old man, Abdulkareem Yahaya Danmallam, has been sentenced to a 10-year jail term after he was convicted of defiling a primary school pupil in Kano.
A Federal High Court presided by Justice K K.Dagat on Wednesday in Kano found him guilty, holding that the suspect did not deserve to live within society.
The court, in addition, ordered him to pay N1 million as fine as additional punishment for the offense he committed.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), had on 21st February 2018, arraigned the suspect before the court over a charge of luring and sexually violating a minor (name withheld).
The prosecutor, Barrister Abdullahi Babale had told the court that the convict lured the victim on her way to school, adding that he extended a “gift” of N10 (Ten Naira only) to the innocent girl following which he proceeded to defile her.
The prosecutor also affirmed that the suspect, by his action, violated the provision of Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons Act, 2015.
In all, three witnesses were produced by the prosecutor, while two documents, one a confessional statement made by the suspect and the other, a medical report obtained from the Murtala Muhammad Specialists Hospital, Kano, were tendered before court.
However, the suspect had all along denied the allegation. His counsel, Barrister Murtala Alimi unsuccessfully urged the court to dismiss the charges against his client on the grounds that they lacked merit.