A Niger State High Court sitting in Minna has sentenced a 27-year-old man, Hussaini Suleiman, to seven years’ imprisonment for raping an eight-year-old girl.
Suleiman was convicted by Justice Binta Bawa of Court 8 of the Niger State High Court after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) disclosed this in a statement on Friday. According to the agency, the incident occurred at the convict’s residence behind the Prison Quarters in Minna, Niger State.
NAPTIP said the case was referred to its Niger State Command by the Niger State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) following a report of the incident.
“The convict admitted to committing the offence and was arraigned before Court 8 of the Niger State High Court, Minna,” the agency said.
The conviction comes amid concerns over rising cases of sexual violence and child abuse in the state.
In August, the Niger State Child Rights Protection Agency said it had recorded 192 cases involving children between November 2025 and June 2026.
The cases included rape, maltreatment, child trafficking, forced marriage, abandonment and denial of child maintenance.
Similarly, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hadiza Idris Kuta, raised concerns in June over what she described as increasing cases of rape, child abuse and other forms of gender-based violence in the state.
