Swift Justice As NAPTIP Secures Life for Teacher Who Raped 9-year-old Pupil

_DG Binta Adamu-Bello hails judiciary. 

It was swift retribution for Abdullahi Abbass, a school teacher at a Kwali-Abuja frontline school as he was sentenced to life Imprisonment by a Federal Capital Territory High Court last Wednesday for raping his 9-year-old pupil. 

Director-General NAPTIP,
Binta Adamu-Bello, OON.

According to a press release signed by Mr Vincent Adekoye, the National Press Officer of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, (NAPTIP), and made available to Nigeria Point Blank, Justice M. Osho-Adebiyi handed Abbass life imprisonment without an option of fine for a-two-count charge of rape and sexual abuse punishable under Section 2 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) VAPP Act 2015. 

The Convict, Abdullahi Abbass 

"The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has achieved another breakthrough in its fight against sexual violence, as a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, presided over by Honourable Justice M Osho – Adebiyi, sentenced a 19-year-old teacher, Abdullahi Abbass working in one of the foremost schools located in Kwali, to life imprisonment, without option of fine, for raping a 9-year-old pupil." The statement reads. 

"The landmark judgment which underscores the efforts of the present management of NAPTIP under the watch of the Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, OON, as well as the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria to protecting children from sexual abuse, came as a moral boost to the state and non – state actors in the implementation of the Violence against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP), 2015." 

Reacting to the sentence, Director-General, NAPTIP, Binta Adamu-Bello, OON described it as a landmark judgement, commensurate punishment and a deterrent. She thanked the Judiciary and the Nigerian Police Force for inter-agency collaboration. 

“This is a landmark judgment that carries the commensurable punishment for the offender. This will serve as a deterrent, and his name shall feature prominently in our Sex Offenders Register." 

“I wish to say that the speedy investigation and arraignment of the Convict is a testimony to our renewed commitment and determination to tackle the incidence of domestic violence, rape, and other forms of sexual abuse in the Country." “I thank the Judiciary for the judgment and the Nigeria Police for the inter- Agency collaboration on this case” 

 

As part of the renewed determination to tackle the emerging issues of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and rape in the Country, the Director General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, had recently strengthened the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Department of the Agency through capacity building for its Operatives, thereby leading to swift intervention and diligent prosecution of all cases. 

The convict was the class teacher of the victim. On the 19th March 2025, after school hours, he sent another pupil to call the victim from their home. He thereafter took the victim down the street where he lived and raped the male victim through the anus. 

The report indicated that despite the threat from the convict, the victim reported the incident to his mother, which led to his arrest by the Police and the subsequent referral of the case to NAPTIP..

The development underscores the need for victims of sexual abuse to speak out and speak out on time before evidences are destroyed. It highlights the fact that inter-agency collaborations and recognition of each agency's mandate and expertise can only bring success.