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The Jigawa State High Court No. 11, sitting at Ringim, has sentenced a 50-year-old man to 10 years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.

The court, presided over by Hon. Justice Muhammad El-Usman, delivered the judgment on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, convicting one Abubakar Biniya of Galadanchi Quarters, Ringim Local Government Area.

The convict committed the offence in January 2024, at Galadanchi quarters, Ringim, where he allegedly had unlawful carnal knowledge of the minor.

In proving its case, the prosecution called six witnesses and tendered five exhibits, including a medical report, before the court.

The convict, however, testified in his defence and did not call any other witness.

Delivering judgment, Justice El-Usman said, “The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and the court has found the defendant guilty as charged.”

The judge said, “The court has considered the plea for leniency made by the convict and the fact that he is a first offender.”

He, therefore, sentenced him to 10 years custodial sentence for the offence of rape.

Justice El-Usman also ordered that, “The convict is to pay a compensation of N5000 to the victim.”

The court further ordered that the name of the convict be entered into the Jigawa State Sexual Offenders Register maintained at the Ministry of Justice.

It also ordered public shaming of the convict through radio announcement, relying on Section 3 (2), (4) and (5) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, No. 02, 2021.

The parties were given three months within which to appeal the judgment.

Shedding more light on the judgment, the Director, Information and Protocol, High Court of Justice, Jigawa State Judiciary, Abbas Wangara, confirmed the development.

Wangara said, “The High Court No. 11 sitting at Ringim has sentenced Abubakar Biniya to 10 years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.”

He said, “The court also ordered compensation and publication of his name in the sexual offenders register.”

He added that, “The judgment is in line with the VAPP Law 2021 as part of measures to deter sexual offenders in the state.”

Meanwhile, on the same date, the court discharged three other persons standing trial for different offences.

Wangara disclosed that, “The court discharged one Sale Kurma, 55, of Tsinaho Village, Taura LGA, who was charged with rape.”

He also said, “The court discharged Mansur Ahmed, 22, of Tsira Village, Ringim LGA, for rape, and Haruna Ahmadu of Marawa Village, Ringim LGA, charged with criminal conspiracy and robbery.”

According to him, “They were discharged for failure of the prosecution to establish the charges against them.”

The prosecution was led by Aisha Umar Zandam (Mrs), DDPP, and Binta Yusuf Abubakar (Mrs), ADPP, Ministry of Justice, Dutse, while the defence counsel was A.H. Hassan, Esq., of Nexus Legal Hubs, Kano.

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Gunmen have abducted 20 corps members serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) along the Owerri–Onitsha Road by Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state.

Confirming the unfortunate incident, in a telephone conversation with Channels Television, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Imo State Police Command, Henry Okoye, said the corps members were reportedly travelling in a commercial bus from Ibadan, Oyo State, to different orientation camps in the South-East and South-South states when they were intercepted by the gunmen.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, visited the scene for an on-the-spot assessment, while the police and other security agencies have intensified efforts to rescue the victims unhurt and unconditionally.

Okoye added that security operatives were currently combing surrounding bushes, while a Rapid Response Team (RRT) had also been deployed to track down the kidnappers and secure the safe release of the corps members.
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The incident came weeks after the police said that 11 people, including an unidentified number of corps members serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), were rescued after gunmen attacked vehicles along the Aloma–Egane Expressway.

The abduction reportedly occurred at about 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, around Ogene Zaria, near the Ogene Zaria–Onicha-Igo Junction.

The armed men reportedly emerged from the bush and blocked two buses travelling in opposite directions, before abducting some of the passengers while others escaped into the bush.

The victims were, however, rescued by Joint security forces comprising the police, military, Department of State Services (DSS), and other auxiliary forces on August 31.

The Director, Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, told journalists that the corps members were rescued from Egume Forest in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, after a coordinated security operation.

President Bola Tinubu has hailed the rescue, saying the well-coordinated Search and Rescue (SAR) operation carried out by a combined team of personnel from the military, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services, and local vigilantes safely rescued all the abductees, comprising eight males and 13 females, from the den of kidnappers in the forests of Ofu on Monday afternoon.

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Suspected bandits have abducted scores of farmers in separate incidents in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, with the chairman of the local government putting the number of victims at 47 and saying the abductors are demanding ₦2 million for each victim.

The victims were reportedly abducted while harvesting groundnuts at Tungan Rimi in Ma’undu-Beri Ward of Mariga Local Government Area.

The incident reportedly occurred on Saturday afternoon, with the attackers also taking some men working on nearby farms.

The Chairman of Mariga Local Government Area, Alhaji Aliyu Bagga Muhamadu, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview, saying reports reaching him indicated that one of the abducted women had given birth while in captivity.

According to him, the abductors have contacted some relatives and are demanding a ransom of ₦2 million for each of the victims before their release.

The council chairman added that security personnel, alongside local vigilantes, had been mobilised to rescue the victims.

He said the joint security team had engaged the suspected bandits around Alibani village after passing through Kasuwan Garba and Biri, during which a vigilante sustained injuries.

Sources further said the armed men were sighted moving through areas between Mangoro and Wamba after allegedly emerging from the Dogon Dawa axis.

The attackers were also said to have moved into the Bariki Forest, also known as Ma’undu, where the abducted persons are suspected to be held.

Some relatives of the victims said they had yet to establish direct contact with their loved ones or receive definite information about their whereabouts, although available reports suggest they may be in the Ma’undu Forest.

However, the Niger State Police Command gave a different figure, confirming the abduction of more than 20 persons at Mukura village in the Kasuwan-Garba District of Mariga Local Government Area.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said in a statement that the incident was reported on September 28, adding that the victims were abducted at about 3 p.m. on September 27.

He said, “Joint security rescue efforts are ongoing.”

While the Mariga council chairman said 47 people were abducted in the groundnut-farm incident, the police statement put the number at more than 20 persons.

The discrepancy in the figures could not immediately be reconciled, while security agencies continue efforts to rescue the victims.