A 23-year-old butcher named Zaiyanu Abdullahi has been brought before the Minna Senior Magistrate Court No. 4 in Niger State, accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
Abdullahi is also facing charges related to the unlawful removal of a child from parental custody, sexual abuse, and exploitation.
According to reports, Abdullahi and several of his friends, who are currently at large, allegedly took the 13-year-old minor to his residence in Tundun-Natsira for over two months, continuously subjecting her to sexual assault.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Godwin Adamu, informed the court that the three charges against Abdullahi violated sections 15(2), 26(2), and 27(2) of the Niger State Child Right and Protection Law of 2021, as amended.
On August 16, 2023, Mohammed Jiya from Gurara area reported to the Niger State Child Right Agency in Minna, stating that on June 8, 2023, the butcher took his 13-year-old daughter without consent.
The police’s First Information Report (FIR) stated, “You, Zaiyanu Abdullahi, 23 years old, from Tudun Natsira area of Minna, took his 13-year-old daughter out of his custody without his consent to your house in Tudun Natsira, where she stayed and cohabited with you in your house for three months.”
During the investigation, the victim identified Abdullahi as the person who abducted and brought her to his house, where both he and his friend allegedly repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her.
When the charges were read before Senior Magistrate Christy Barau, Abdullahi pleaded not guilty. Consequently, the magistrate ordered him to be remanded in a correctional facility.
The case has been adjourned until September 21, 2023, for further hearings.