A Senior Magistrate’s Court in Minna, Niger State, has sentenced four individuals to a cumulative 95 years in prison for gang-raping and impregnating a 13-year-old girl in 2023.

The convicts, listed as Salisu Baura, Lawali Shaibu, Haruna Musa, and Saidu Bello, all of Kontagora town, allegedly took turns to sexually abuse the minor under threat, after which they gave her N1,400.

They were eventually arrested by men of the Kontagora Divisional Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and brought to the state command headquarters for prosecution.

In her judgement, the Magistrate, Christy Barau, described the convicts’ action as animalistic and heartless, stating that they had earlier admitted to their offences during their trial, but that due to the gravity of the charges against them, “the court entered a no plea of guilt for full trial to commence.

She explained that this was to enable the prosecution to prove its case against them with all the evidence and witnesses before the court, and “to enable the court to give them the deserved punishment.”

According to the First Information Report (FIR) made available in court, they were arraigned on charges of joint act and unlawful sexual intercourse with a child, punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code, and Section 26 (1) of the Child Rights Law of Niger State.

During their trial, the prosecutor called three witnesses, including the victim herself, her father and the investigative NSCDC officer, while five exhibits were tendered. Among the evidence was the video statement of the convicts, their written statements, the victim’s statement, the medical report of the penetration, and the voice record of the convicts.

With all these and the testimonies, the convicts could not enter their defences, according to reports. However, the defence counsel, Mohammed Lemu, pleaded on their behalf for justice to be tempered with mercy, as the convicts showed remorse throughout their court trial.

Though admitting that “the convicts really showed remorse throughout the trial, the magistrate said the case of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child is a serious one, even as incidents of rape are on the increase.

According to her, “the act of these convicts is animalistic, inhuman and heartless. The court will not be fair to the victim if appropriate punishment is not served on them to serve as a deterrent to others.

“The first, second and third convicts are hereby sentenced to 20 years in custody for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child and five years for the offence of joint act, while the fourth convict, now at large, is to serve 20 years for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.”

Reacting to the court ruling, the spokesman for the Niger State Command of the NSCDC, Mohammad Mute, thanked the court, adding that the command had long awaited the judgment.