For allegedly deflowering and impregnating a 14-year-old sachet water hawker, three men, all employees of Sokoto State Urban and Regional Planning Board including a director, are now cooling their heels in police net.
The trio of Ahmad Nawawi, Director of Finance, Habibu Abubakar and a yet-to-be identified person, are being quizzed by the police, according to ASP Muhammad Sadiq, the state command’s spokesman.
The suspects allegedly took turns to have carnal knowledge of the girl in their offices resulting in a pregnancy.
Also, the long arm of the law has caught up with a human rights lawyer allegedly implicated in the statements of the suspects to facilitate withdrawal of the case from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons.
He is currently in police custody.
It was learnt that the police involvement followed threats to the life of the victim’s maternal aunt, Hajiya Maryam Yusuf.
Yusuf said: “The father confessed to us that he was given money to abort the pregnancy and take care of the girl. I vehemently disagreed to the settlement because how could she still be under NAPTIP custody if the case has been truly over?
“There were pressure and threats to my life over my refusal to let the case rest. They summoned me and offered me some money, but I refused to collect it. Now they are threatening my life.”
Reacting to the allegations, Nawawi, the Director, denied any involvement in the whole saga, describing it as a frame-up for political reasons, while Abubakar claimed that they confessed to the crime under duress at the NAPTIP office.
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