A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Gudu has sentenced Bishop Kenneth Duke, a prominent church founder in Abuja, to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for the rape of a 12-year-old girl.

Justice Adebiyi Osolo handed down the sentence after the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) charged the 52-year-old bishop, an indigene of Cross River State, for assaulting the minor, who had been entrusted to his care. The offence contravenes the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.

In case number CR/702/2023, Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs Bishop Kenneth Duke, the defendant was arraigned on November 2, 2023, on a two-count charge of rape and causing emotional and psychological harm to the victim.

NAPTIP’s investigation revealed that the victim, an indigene of Ondo State, had been living in Lagos before moving to Abuja to live with her mother. On March 5, 2023, her mother took her to the bishop’s church, where she later stayed with the bishop’s family under the arrangement for the child to learn a skill.

On March 6, 2023, while alone with the girl, Duke allegedly assaulted her.

NAPTIP confirmed that the bishop was found guilty of rape and sentenced accordingly.

Reacting to the conviction, NAPTIP’s Director-General Binta Bello commended the judiciary for its decision, noting that it would serve as a deterrent to others.

“I want to sincerely thank the judiciary for this judgment. It will certainly serve as a deterrent to others,” Bello said, stressing that NAPTIP would continue to hold offenders accountable regardless of their status.

Bello further emphasised the serious impact of sexual violence. “Rape is a serious crime with lasting psychological effects on the victim. We must all rise to say no to this heinous crime and ensure the protection of our children,” she added.

The development followed the rescue of nine pregnant girls by NAPTIP operatives at a suspected baby factory located within one of the sprawling estates in the Ushafa area of Abuja.

The victims had been locked in a rented apartment inside the estate by a suspected trafficking agent, whose identity remains unknown, after being recruited through an online platform.

NAPTIP operatives carried out the raid following a tip-off from a concerned citizen who noticed unusual activity and movement around the area.

Nigeria’s total public debt skyrocketed to ₦142.3 trillion by the end of September 2024, marking a 5.97% increase from the ₦134.3 trillion recorded in June, according to the latest figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO).

This surge stems from rising domestic borrowing and the naira’s depreciation, which sharply inflated the naira equivalent of external debts.

External debt, measured in dollar terms, rose slightly by 0.29%, from $43.03 billion in June to $43.15 billion in September.

However, the naira equivalent ballooned by 9.22%, jumping from ₦63.07 trillion to ₦68.89 trillion.

This was attributed to the exchange rate weakening from ₦1,470.19/$ to ₦1,601.03/$ within the same period.

Domestic debt presented a mixed picture: while declining by 5.34% in dollar terms (from $48.45 billion to $45.87 billion), it rose by 3.10% in naira terms, increasing from ₦71.22 trillion to ₦73.43 trillion.

“The Federal Government remains the primary driver of domestic debt, rising from N66.96 trillion in June to N69.22 trillion in September,” the DMO noted.

Debt owed by states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) decreased marginally, from ₦4.27 trillion to ₦4.21 trillion.

With the naira’s depreciation exerting significant pressure, financial experts warn that Nigeria’s rising debt stock underscores the urgent need for fiscal reforms to stabilise the economy.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has stated that the federal capital territory area council elections will be held on February 21, 2026.

The INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Wednesday during a consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja.

According to Yakubu, the last area council election in the FCT was held on February 12, 2022, adding that the tenure of the current chairmen and councillors will end next year.

“Consequently, the commission has approved that the 2026 area council election in FCT will be held on Saturday 21st February 2026.

“Voting will take place in all the designated Polling Units across the 68 constituencies to elect the six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councilors.

“In compliance with the mandatory legal requirements, the notice for the election will be published next month i.e. 26th February 2025. Party primaries will be held from 9th – 30th June 2025. The candidate nomination portal will open from 9.00am on 21st July 2025 to 6.00pm on 11th August 2025,” he said.

Yakubu said the final list of candidates will be published on September 22, 2025, adding that campaigns will commence on September 24 and end at midnight on February 19, 2026.

“The detailed timetable and schedule of activities for the election as well as the list of constituencies and type of elections in the FCT will be uploaded to our website before the end of this meeting.

“Hard copies of the two documents have been included in your folders for this meeting. For your guidance, we are also including the hard copies of the regulation and guidelines for political parties 2022 in your folders while the softcopy is already available from our website www.inecnigeria.org.

“In due course, the commission will come up with plans for other routine activities such as the resumption of nationwide Continuous Voter registration and the conduct of outstanding bye-elections,” he added.

The INEC chairman said regarding the Anambra State governorship election to be held on November 8, 2025, the next activity is the conduct of primaries by political parties.

“May I remind leaders of political parties that primaries for the nomination of candidates for the Anambra State Governorship election begin in the next two months, that is, 20th March to 10th April 2025.

“You may similarly recall that at our last regular meeting, we agreed that you would forward your schedule of activities for the election to the commission to enable us to work together and plan better for the deployment of personnel and resources for the monitoring of your party primaries and campaign activities, to avoid the last-minute rush with the attendant inability to meet deadlines and unnecessarily dissipate our energy and lean resources.

“So far, only a few parties are in compliance. I urge those that have not done so to submit the details by the end of this week,” he said.