Convicted rapist of 8-year-old girl blames ‘devil’

A 30-year-old driver, Khamis Umar, who was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Jos Upper Area Court in Kasuwan Nama for raping an eight-year-old girl has said the devil pushed him to commit the crime. The prosecutor, Insp. Hasiru Ibrahim, told the court that Hauwa Musa, mother of the victim, reported the […]

A 30-year-old driver, Khamis Umar, who was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment by a Jos Upper Area Court in Kasuwan Nama for raping an eight-year-old girl has said the devil pushed him to commit the crime.

The prosecutor, Insp. Hasiru Ibrahim, told the court that Hauwa Musa, mother of the victim, reported the matter at B Division Police Station when she observed that her daughter could not sit properly and was also screaming in pains anytime she wanted to sit.

Upon enquiry, the girl told the mother that the convict took her to a farm behind his house and asked her to remove her clothes, the prosecutor said.

He added that the victim told the mother that she declined the request but that the convict forcefully removed her clothes and had carnal knowledge of her.

The convict, upon pleading guilty to the one-count charge, begged the court for leniency.

“It was the devil that pushed me to do it. This is the first time and I will not repeat it again. Have mercy on me,’’ he said.

The presiding judge, Mr Yahaya Mohammed, who handed down the sentence without an option of fine, said it would serve as a deterrent to other would be offenders. (NAN)