A Nigerian army corporal has been sentenced to five
years in prison by a military court martial, after he was found
guilty of defiling a 13-year-old girl in Bama Local Government Area
of Borno State.
Besides the five-year sentence, the court martial on Wednesday,
also dismissed the corporal after the trial which lasted for over
two years.
The 7-division General Court Martial of Operation Lafiya Dole
had charged him for assault and defilement of the girl who had
newly returned to her hometown after years of displacement in
Maiduguri.
The prosecution had described in graphic details how Corporal
Yakubu waylaid and raped the minor, abandoned her in an uncompleted
building after beating her to unconsciousness.
The survivor who later gained consciousness staggered out and
was sighted by a passerby who helped her home. Yakubu, on the other
hand, had already fled the crime scene.
Military authorities commenced investigation when the assault
was reported, leading to the identification of the suspect who had
a ready-made alibi claiming that he had traveled out of Bama town
on the “31st of June.”
The President of the Court martial, Brigadier-General Arikpo
Ekubi, said t he arraigned soldier in an attempt at defense, sought
to back his claim that he was in Maiduguri at the time material to
the case.
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“A unit armourer from 202 tank battalion who kept a book to
record passes tendered the book as exhibit “D” but it ended up
strengthening the case of prosecution that the accused person
traveled the very day of the incident as stated by the
investigating police officer,” he explained.
According to him, “it is noteworthy that the accused person did
not specifically deny assaulting the victim as he tried in respect
of count one, he only relied on his failed alibi without debunking
the glaring issue of assaulting the victim.”
The President of the court martial, Brigadier-General Arikpo
Ekubi, while handing down the judgement described the actions of
the corporal as barbaric and capable of dragging the name of the
Nigerian Army in the mud.
“This court hereby sentence you as follows: Count 1: Five years
imprisonment. Count 2: Dismissal from service. These sentences are,
however, subject to confirmation by the prescribed authority as
provided by sections 151 SS 1d and 157 ss 1b of the Armed forces
Act,” Ekubi declared.
The dismissed soldier broke down in tears as he was escorted out
of the courtroom.
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