A Delta State High Court has sentenced a 40-year-old Bureau de Change operator, Abubakar Mohammed, to life imprisonment.
The court found Mohammed guilty of abusing a nine-year-old girl in Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area.
The verdict brings an end to a case that saw the prosecution present evidence about the child’s vulnerability and the circumstances surrounding the offence.
Justice Onome Marshal-Umukoro delivered the judgment after the prosecution established the required elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
The case was prosecuted by the Delta State Ministry of Justice under the state’s Violence Against Persons Law, 2020.
Prosecutors relied on the direct evidence presented by the victim during the trial.
The court also considered medical evidence that supported key parts of the prosecution’s case.
Delta Court sentences BDC operator to life after finding Mohammed guilty of the offence.
In reaching the decision, Justice Marshal-Umukoro considered several factors surrounding the case.
These included the victim’s age, her vulnerability and the circumstances surrounding the offence.
The court also considered an alleged earlier incident and claims that threats were made against the victim.
Furthermore, Justice Marshal-Umukoro said the circumstances justified a punishment beyond the minimum sentence allowed by law.
Mohammed was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment without an option of a fine.
The court also ordered that his details be added to Delta State’s Register of Convicted Sexual Offenders.
His name, photograph and other relevant information will be entered into the register.
The court further directed that the register should remain accessible to members of the public.
The prosecution was led by Mrs Victoria Ibegbulem, a Principal State Counsel in the Ministry of Justice’s Sexual Offences Unit.
