By Emopkae Osaretin (Abuja)
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured the conviction of a teacher accused of sexual violence against a minor, advancing the Federal Government’s drive to protect children from abuse and implement the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act of 2015.
The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Osho-Adebiyi, sentenced a 19-year-old teacher, Mr. Abdullahi Abbass, to life imprisonment without an option of fine for sodomizing a nine-year-old male pupil of a school where he worked in Kwali.
The convict, who was the child’s class teacher, on March 19, 2025, after school hours, sent another pupil to lure the victim from his home under a false pretext.
He then sodomized the child on the street where he lived.
Despite threats from the convict, the child reported the assault to his mother, leading to Abbass’s arrest by the police and subsequent case transfer to NAPTIP.
The court found him guilty of an offence punishable under Section 2 of the VAPP Act, 2015.
The defendant was arraigned on a two-count charge of rape and sexual abuse and was convicted on October 29, 2025.
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Mrs. Binta Adamu Bello, commended the judiciary for the landmark judgment and thanked partners for their support during the prosecution.
She expressed hope that the conviction would serve as a deterrent and confirmed that the convict’s name would be entered into NAPTIP’s Sex Offenders Register.
The Director-General had recently strengthened the agency’s VAPP Department through capacity-building initiatives for operatives, leading to swift interventions and diligent case prosecutions.
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