By Florencemary Nwabueze
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured a landmark conviction, sentencing two security guards to life imprisonment for the repeated rape of a young girl over a six-year period in Abuja.
James Sule, 30, and Adamu Yau, 25, were handed life sentences without the option of a fine by Hon. Justice S.M. Mayana of the Federal Capital Territory High Court 46, Apo, Abuja. The pair were prosecuted under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
The victim, who was just six years old when the abuse began, endured unimaginable trauma. According to case details, in 2016, the girl's grandmother asked Sule—then the family's security guard—to repair a broken toilet at their residence in Penthouse Estate, Lugbe, Abuja. While the grandmother was in the kitchen, Sule called the crying child into the toilet, locked the door, removed her underwear, and raped her. He then threatened her with a knife to ensure her silence.
That attack marked the start of six years of repeated sexual abuse. Sule later recruited two other guards—Adamu Yau and one Mohammed, who remains at large—to assault the child whenever opportunities arose. The men threatened to kill her and her entire family if she ever spoke out.
The victim finally confided in a pastor at a prayer house after her parents noticed troubling changes in her behaviour. She became visibly agitated whenever Sule entered the house and refused to let him escort her to or from school. The parents reported the matter to the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), which referred the case to NAPTIP.
Following investigations, charges were filed on February 9, 2023. Sule and Yau were arraigned on October 23, 2023, pleading not guilty. The prosecution presented five witnesses—including the victim's tearful mother—and seven exhibits, among them a medical report confirming the victim's hymen was breached.
NAPTIP Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, praised the judgment as a clear warning to offenders nationwide.
"This is one of the fallouts of our improved strategies aimed at tightening the noose on violators through stringent implementation of the VAPP Act," she said. "It will no longer be business as usual for them."
“I am excited that indeed, adequate justice, which is commensurate with the magnitude of the crime committed by the convicts, was duly served on them. This will go a long way to assuage the pain and traumatic experience of the victim and her family.
She furher urged parents and employers to properly screen domestic workers and service providers before employing them.
“I also want to use this medium to appeal again to all Nigerians, especially parents, school owners, and other stakeholders, to ensure that they carry out due diligence and strict profiling on any service providers before employing them. These service providers include Drivers, Security Guards, Home Lesson Teachers, babysitters, Cooks, and others,” she added.
The mother of the victim also expressed appreciation to NAPTIP and the prosecution team for ensuring justice for her daughter.
NAPTIP confirmed that the convicts have been transferred to Kuje Correctional Centre where they will serve their life sentences.