Ya’u Ibrahim, 58, was charged with defiling a six-year-old child in front of the Angwan Senior Magistrate Court in Minna, Niger State.
Ya’u Ibrahim of Kundu village in the Rafi Local Government Area of the state was charged with exploitation and illicit sexual activity with a child on two counts, and he was arraigned in court.
The charges were in violation of sections 26 (2) and 27 (2) of the Niger Child Rights and Protection Law of Niger State 2021 as amended, according to Police Prosecutor Inspector Aliyu Yakubu Kuta.
“One Abdullahi Dauda, of Kundu village in Rafi local government area had reported to the Kagara Divisional Police Command that the defendant of the same address lured his six-year-old granddaughter to his room and sexually abused her,” reads the Police First Information Report (FIR).
The prosecutor added that the 58-year-old defendant confessed and admitted to the police during the course of the police enquiry that he had had sex with the six-year-old child in his room.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the two-count accusation and begged for mercy after the charges were read to him by the presiding Senior Magistrate Wuse.
The police prosecutor, however, objected to a summary judgement and the bail application because of the “heinous and capital nature” of the acts.
“My Lord, I will not let the defendant to be found guilty in a summary trial. In accordance with the modified Child Right Law of Niger State, I encourage the court to begin a complete trial into the case so that it can hear testimony before deciding what kind of punishment the defendant deserves.