Nigeria Police Arrest 4 Men On Charge Of Raping Minor In Maiduguri As Rape Cases Surge

The police in Borno state in Northeast Nigeria, on Wednesday, June 14, disclosed that they arrested four men on the charges of raping a 13-year-old girl. This is one of the notably numerous cases that have been going on between April and June this year in the state, according to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO).

The four men, who are all in their 60s except for one who is 43 years old, live in the Hausari neighbourhood of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. 

They were said to have exploited the poor background of the primary five pupil by offering her money as little as ₦50.

“They usually take advantage of the girl either when she is on her way to or from school, or while running an errand for her parent to lure and rape,” Abdul Umar, the Commissioner of Police, disclosed during a briefing on the arrest of 87 criminal suspects recently arrested in the State.  

According to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), one of the suspects, Musa Tukur, a grey-haired man in his late 60s, would lure the little girl into an empty compound where he worked as a security man and offered ₦50 to buy food, then he raped the girl. 

When asked about the allegation, Tukur confirmed the incident but said it was in January. 

60-year-old Garba Suleiman, one of the suspects in police custody, did not also deny his crime. Instead, he claimed the incident happened after he bought her a local cuisine of sliced cucumber and spiced pepper, which reportedly cost the divorcee ₦50. 

Another suspect, 42-year-old Lawan Nasir, stated that his abuse of the girl dates back to “many months”, suggesting that the girl was much younger than 13 when he raped her. 

Nasir said he had a wife and children; among them were girls whom he would not wish to suffer what he did to the girl.  

The fourth suspect in police custody, Samaila Hassan, who said he was born in 1962, denied the allegations against him. However, he added that the Police asked him to follow them after the girl identified him while working on his sewing machine at Hausari, where the three accused also live.

The girl’s plight is an example of how underaged and vulnerable girls suffer sexual abuse by adult males. Earlier in the year, the police in the state arraigned several rapists, of which the majority were paedophiles. 

Sexual violence and exploitation are a significant concern in the State. The situation is further aggravated by the impact of the protracted conflict, particularly on vulnerable  women and girls in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and host communities where displaced families eke out a vulnerable living with less financial protection. 

According to the police, the case of the 13 year old girl was among the numerous other rape cases reported to the command between April and June this year. 

In April, an 80-year-old man, Saleh Bukar, was arrested on the charge of raping an  11-year-old girl. The incident was discovered after her 22-year-old sister observed an unusual discharge from the vagina of the victim, the state police commissioner stated. 

He added that “the case has been investigated and awaiting legal advice”. 

Another suspect, 30-year-old Baba Goni, from Kawuri village of Magumeri local government area, was also in police custody for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in April. 

In January, Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, signed two legislations on Child Rights Protection and Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP), designed to protect children and women from violence and abuse.