The Presiding Chief Magistrate of a Minna Magistrate Court, Hajiya Ummulkhatum Mohammed, has ordered that two middle-aged men be remanded in a correctional centre for allegedly gang-raping a 12-year-old girl in Niger State.
The defendants, Umaru Hussaini and Zulkifilu Musa are residents of the Sabon Gari area of Kagara, headquarters of Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Police Prosecutor, Inspector Bello Mohammed Beji, said the defendants lured the 12-year-old into Musa’s room, where they had carnal knowledge of her one after the other.
Beji told the court that the two defendants were arraigned for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
He said the offence contravened sections 79 of the Penal Code Law and section 26 (2) of the Niger State Child Rights Act 2021.
Beji explained that one Lawal Haruna of the Sabon Gari area of the same address had reported to Kagara Divisional Police headquarters that the two alleged rapists lured his 12-year-old daughter to the room and gang-raped her.
According to him, immediately, after the police got the report, detectives swung into action, leading to the arrest of the two defendants.
“During police interrogation, each of them confessed to having committed the offence,” the prosecutor disclosed.
However, when the charges were read by the presiding chief magistrate, Hajiya Hussaini, one of them, Umaru Hussaini, pleaded guilty.
But Zulkifilu Musa pleaded not guilty to the crime.
The prosecutor applied for the adjournment of the case to enable the police to bring witnesses for the commencement of a full trial.
The presiding magistrate ordered that the defendants be kept in correctional custody, and adjourned the case to February 14, 2024.