The Delta State High Court sitting in Asaba has sentenced Abubakar Mohammed to life imprisonment without an option of fine for raping a nine-year-old girl in Asaba, Oshimili South Local Government Area.
Justice Onome Marshal-Umukoro delivered the judgment in Charge No. DTHC/ASB/CR/26/2025, State v. Abubakar Mohammed.
Mohammed was prosecuted by the Delta State Ministry of Justice under Sections 3(1)(a) and 4(1) of the Delta State Violence Against Persons Law, 2020. The prosecution was led by Mrs. Victoria Ibegbulem, Principal State Counsel in the Ministry’s Sexual Offences Unit.
In her judgment, Justice Marshal-Umukoro held that the prosecution had established all the essential elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
The court relied principally on the direct evidence of the victim, which was corroborated by medical evidence, to convict Mohammed of rape.
While determining the sentence, the court considered the victim’s age and vulnerability, the abuse of trust, the circumstances surrounding the offence, as well as evidence of an earlier alleged abuse accompanied by threats to the girl’s life.
Justice Marshal-Umukoro held that the circumstances of the case warranted a punishment beyond the statutory minimum and consequently sentenced Mohammed to life imprisonment without an option of fine.
The court also ordered that the convict’s name, photograph and other particulars be entered in the Register of Convicted Sex Offenders maintained by the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Delta State.
