Kebbi Court Jails Man Five Years for Attempted Rape of Minor

A High Court in Kebbi State has sentenced a man to five years in prison for attempting to rape a young girl, following a trial that examined medical evidence and the defendant’s own confessional statements.

The conviction was handed down by Justice Maryam Abubakar Kaoje at the Kebbi State High Court sitting in Birnin Kebbi. The defendant, Ibrahim Isah, a resident of the Rikoto area of Zuru Local Government Area who works in Birnin Kebbi, was found guilty of attempted rape.

Isah was charged in connection with an incident involving a minor identified as Zainab Muhammad. Prosecutors initially filed two counts of rape and gross indecency under Sections 259 and 261 of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021.

During the trial, the prosecution team, led by Lawal Hudu Garba alongside the Director of Public Prosecution from the Ministry of Justice, called five witnesses and presented three exhibits. These included the defendant’s statements recorded in both English and Hausa, as well as a medical report relating to the victim.

The defence counsel, Barrister S. M. DanYaro, presented only the defendant in his case.

In her judgment, Justice Kaoje ruled that while the evidence did not support convictions for rape or gross indecency, it clearly established an attempt to commit rape, an offence punishable under Section 58 of the Kebbi State Penal Code Law, 2021.

“The facts disclosed in the confessional statement did not prove the offence of rape and act of gross indecency,” the judge said, “but rather, it proved the offence of an attempt to commit an offence to wit; rape.”

The court sentenced Isah to five years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₦50,000. Failure to pay the fine will attract an additional one-year jail term.