Barely a week after the Senate approved life imprisonment as the penalty for child defilement, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has applied the stringent sentence.
Justice Osho Adebiyi sentenced Abdullahi Abbas, a 19-year-old school teacher, to life imprisonment after convicting him of rape.
Abbas was found guilty of raping a 9-year-old pupil within the Kwali Area Council of the FCT.
The convicted teacher, Abdullahi Abbas, worked at a prominent school in Kwali and was the victim’s class teacher.
On March 19, after school hours, Abbas reportedly sent a different pupil to bring the victim from their home.
He then took the 9-year-old boy to his residence down the street and raped the male victim anally.
Despite being threatened by Abbas, the victim courageously reported the incident to his mother.
Persecondnews reports that this led to the teacher’s immediate arrest by the Police and the subsequent referral of the case to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Abbas was arraigned on a two-count charge of rape and sexual abuse.
He was formally convicted on October 29 for the offence, which is punishable under Section 2 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
Reacting to the conviction, NAPTIP Director General Binta Bello commended the judiciary for delivering the landmark judgment and another major breakthrough in the fight against sexual violence in Nigeria.
She also acknowledged the support of all partners involved in the successful prosecution and conviction of the offender.
“This is a landmark judgment that carries the commensurable punishment for the offender. This will serve as a deterrent, and his name shall feature prominently in our Sex Offenders Register.
“I wish to say that the speedy investigation and arraignment of the Convict is a testimony to our renewed commitment and determination to tackle the incidence of domestic violence, rape, and other forms of sexual abuse in the country.
“I thank the judiciary for the judgment and the Nigeria Police for the inter-Agency collaboration on this case,” she said in a statement in a press statement by the National Press Officer, Mr. Vincent Adekoye, on Saturday, November 1.
Persecondnews had reported that the Senate on Tuesday, October 21 approved life imprisonment without an option of fine for anyone convicted of defiling a minor, as part of sweeping amendments to the Criminal Code Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The red chamber said the stiffer penalty would serve as a deterrent to offenders and safeguard children from sexual abuse, describing the act as “a grievous crime capable of destroying a child’s life forever”
During plenary, senators unanimously voted in favour of the life sentence for defilement, an offence that initially carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
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