The 7th Kebbi High Court, sitting in Birnin Kebbi and presided over by Justice Shamsudeen Jafar, has sentenced three people to life imprisonment for raping an 18-year-old married woman (deaf).
The convicts are; Amiru Sani, Aliyu Umar and Bashar Dan-Inno of Wararin Zaromawa village. The prosecutor, Faridah Muhammad, in her statement, said the convicts, who were facing two counts of criminal conspiracy and rape, committed the act at Wararin Zaromawa village in Gwandu Local Government Area of the state.
“The suspects entered the victim’s home while she was sleeping and forcibly rescued her.
“They had strangled her with a thick piece of cloth and tied both her hands with a rope before sexually intercourse with her one by one,” she said.
The counsel asked the court to convict the suspects as charged because the law imposed a mandatory sentence. She said criminal conspiracy and rape were offences punishable under sections 259 and 60 of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021.
The prosecution had previously called three witnesses and submitted six pieces of evidence, consisting of both English and Hausa statements from the three prosecution witnesses, to support its case.
The defense lawyer, Ahmed Abubakar-Filgila, called upon the three convicts to testify and give evidence in their defense without submitting any document or evidence. The defense lawyer prayed to the court to temper justice with mercy.
In his judgment, Judge Jafar stated that the Public Prosecution Service had demonstrated all the elements of carnal intercourse with the victim (name withheld).
He said she had done so on the basis of the joint statements of the victim and the first suspect and that the defence had not refuted all their evidence.
“I believe that all suspects conspired to commit the act.
“Meanwhile, the convicts conspired and raped the victim, an 18-year-old deaf woman who is also married, in her husband’s home.
“All the ingredients necessary to establish a criminal conspiracy to commit rape have been established by the Public Prosecution Service beyond reasonable doubt.
“The court has no choice but to act on the evidence before it,” he said.
The judge also stated that the court is of the opinion that it has found the first, second and third suspects guilty of the charges.
“Now that we have found you guilty on the charge, you Amiru Sani, Aliyu Umar and Bashar Dan-Inno are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for all pleading guilty under section 259 and section 60 of the Kebbi State Penal Code 2021,” he stated.
