A Federal High Court in Kano has sentenced a 78-year-old farmer, Dan’azumi Muhammad, to five years in prison for attempting to sexually assault a seven-year-old girl.
Muhammad, who resides in Kumurya village in Bunkure Local Government Area of Kano State, was convicted on a one-count charge of procurement and attempted sexual exploitation after pleading guilty.
Delivering the judgment, Justice S.M. Shuaibu said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I hereby sentence the convict to five years imprisonment without an option of fine. This will serve as a deterrent to others as such cases are becoming prevalent,” the judge said.
- Bike snatchers stab cyclist to death in Abuja
- BREAKING: Kwankwaso Meets Former Head of State Babangida in Minna
Prosecution counsel Hassan Nuruddeen of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) told the court that Muhammad committed the offence on July 18, when he lured the minor on her way to school and dragged her into a local silo near his home.
Nuruddeen presented the convict’s confessional statement and the victim’s testimony as evidence.
The prosecution said the act violated Sections 29 and 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015.
Defence counsel M.B. Isah pleaded for leniency, noting that Muhammad was a first-time offender.
