Man jailed one month, fined N30,000 for raping 12-year-old boy to death

A man, Abubakar Maishai, who abducted and raped a 12-year-old boy, identified simply as Aminu, has been sentenced to a ridiculous one month behind bars in addition to paying a paltry N30,000 fine in Kontagora area of Niger state.

Aminu lost his life in the hospital after he was allegedly sexually abused by Abubakar, a tea seller in Ngwayanma, in the Kontagora area of Niger state.

Abubakar, aka Maishai, had reportedly abducted Aminu from his parents’ house sometime in March, and held him hostage in his apartment.

He was alleged to have severally had sex with Aminu for two weeks, until the victim fell ill.

It was gathered that a neighbour, who got wind of Aminu’s abduction, raised the alarm and reported the case to the police at the Kontagora division.

While Abubakar was arrested, the boy was admitted to a hospital, where he died.

A resident, who did not want his name in print, said the incident had left the parents of the victim traumatised, urging the police to ensure diligent prosecution of the suspect.

He said, “the boy’s parents suddenly discovered that he was missing and asked for his whereabouts from his friends, who denied knowledge of his whereabouts.

Afterwards, a case of abduction was reported to the police. That was early March.

“A man alerted us two weeks later that he saw Aminu with Maishai (Abubakar).

The suspect initially denied that the boy was in his custody. The boy was later found in his apartment in a critical condition. He looked tired and pale. Maishai confessed he had sex with him several times.

“The police were called to arrest him and Aminu was rushed to a hospital.

He eventually died last week. The parents do not want to talk about the incident for now; they are devastated.”

One Zakari Kontagora, also lamented the death of the boy on a social media platform, saying that the community had been thrown into mourning.

“The boy was reportedly raped by a man called Abubakar. He had sex with the boy for a long time, which led to his death.

“The residents of Kontagora and neighbours expressed their sorrow and called upon security agents to take necessary actions.

A police source informed our correspondent that Abubakar was arraigned in a Kontagora Chief Magistrate’s court on two counts of abduction and unnatural offences, to which the defendant pleaded guilty.

“The unfortunate thing is that he was sentenced to one month imprisonment with a fine of N30,000, which is ridiculous. The punishment generated a lot of outcry.

“But it is not the police’s fault. What the police can do is to appeal the case or file a new charge, now that boy is dead,” he added.

The Niger state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Elkana James, confirmed Aminu’s death, saying that the case had been transferred to the command headquarters in Minna.

He added that the suspect would be re-arraigned on a fresh charge of culpable homicide.

He said, “our legal team is reviewing the sentence. When the suspect was charged to court, the boy was not dead. So, he was charged with abduction and unnatural offences.