FCT Court Hands Life Sentence to Teacher for Raping Nine-Year-Old Pupil

A 19-year-old teacher, Abdullahi Abbass, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an FCT High Court for raping his nine-year-old pupil in Kwali, a verdict hailed by NAPTIP as a major step against sexual violence in Nigeria.

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Abuja has sentenced a 19-year-old schoolteacher, Abdullahi Abbass, to life imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old pupil in the Kwali Area Council.

The sentence was delivered by Justice Osho Adebiyi, who found the accused guilty of rape and sexual abuse in violation of Section 2 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Vincent Adekoye, the National Press Officer of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), hailed the court’s verdict as a major victory in Nigeria’s ongoing campaign against sexual violence.

According to details from the case, Abbass, a teacher at a well-known school in Kwali, lured his pupil on March 19, 2025, after school hours. He allegedly sent another student to invite the victim from home, then took the child to the street where he lived and sexually assaulted him.

Despite being threatened by the perpetrator to remain silent, the young victim disclosed the assault to his mother, who promptly reported the matter to the authorities. The teacher was subsequently arrested by the police, and the case was transferred to NAPTIP for prosecution.

Following his arraignment on two counts of rape and sexual assault, Abbass was found guilty and convicted on October 29, 2025.

NAPTIP commended the judiciary for upholding justice, emphasizing that the judgment serves as a deterrent to others who prey on children. The agency reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that offenders face the full weight of the law.