Jigawa Court Sentences Man to 10 Years for Raping Minor
The Jigawa State High Court No. 11, sitting in Ringim, has sentenced a 50-year-old man, Abubakar Biniya, to 10 years in prison for raping an 11-year-old girl.
Justice Muhammad El-Usman delivered the judgment on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after finding Biniya, a resident of Galadanchi Quarters in Ringim Local Government Area, guilty of the offence.
According to a statement by the Director of Information and Protocol of the Jigawa State High Court, Abbas Rufa’i Wangara, Biniya committed the offence in January 2024 at Galadanchi Quarters, Ringim.
The prosecution, led by the state Ministry of Justice, called six witnesses and tendered five exhibits, including a medical report, in evidence.
Biniya testified in his own defence but did not call any other witness.
In passing sentence, the court considered his plea for leniency and the fact that he was a first-time offender.
In addition to the 10-year prison term, the court ordered Biniya to pay N500,000 in compensation to the victim.
The court further ordered that his name be published in the Jigawa State Sexual Offenders Register maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
It also directed that the convict be publicly shamed through radio announcements in accordance with Section 3(2), (4) and (5) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law No. 02 of 2021.
The court allowed the parties three months within which to appeal the judgment.
In separate judgments delivered the same day, the court discharged three other defendants who had faced criminal charges.
They included 55-year-old Sale Kurma of Tsinaho Village, Taura LGA, and 22-year-old Mansur Ahmed of Tsira Village, Ringim LGA, who were charged with rape.
The court also discharged Haruna Ahmadu of Marawa Village, Ringim LGA, who was facing charges of criminal conspiracy and robbery.
The three defendants were discharged after the prosecution failed to establish the charges against them.
