The Abia State Government has secured the conviction of two child sexual offenders in separate defilement cases, with the offenders sentenced to 30 years and 10 years in prison. The government described the outcome as a major step in its fight against sexual and gender-based violence.
One of the offenders, a 35-year-old man from Akwa Ibom State, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Family Court at the High Court in Umuahia for defiling a five-year-old girl. Another 32-year-old man was jailed for 30 years after he was found guilty of defiling a 13-year-old girl.
The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, announced this on Tuesday in Umuahia while briefing journalists after this week’s State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Alex Otti.
Kanu said the convictions showed the government’s zero-tolerance for sexual offences and sent a strong warning to offenders.
He said the convictions were among the major successes recorded by the state’s Nchedo Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the General Hospital, Aba.
“The centre has continued to provide coordinated medical, psychosocial and referral services to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence,” he said.
Kanu also revealed that the centre is handling two new cases involving a 60-year-old woman allegedly gang-raped and a five-year-old child who survived defilement.
He added, “The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection has continued to implement the state’s social protection framework by identifying and supporting vulnerable residents that require urgent medical and humanitarian assistance.”
Speaking on the convictions, the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Ngozi Felix, said one of the convicts escaped to Nasarawa State after committing the offence but was traced by the police and brought back to Abia for prosecution.
She described the prosecution as “one of the fastest recorded within Nigeria’s network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres,” and credited the success to the joint efforts of the Ministries of Health, Justice, Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, along with the Nigeria Police Force.
Felix also praised the Abia State Commissioner of Police, Danladi Isa, for the command’s support during the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence cases.
She said the Governor Alex Otti-led administration remained committed to protecting vulnerable residents and ensuring justice for survivors of sexual violence.
