The Nigerian Army 7 Division Court Martial, Operation Lafiya Dole, has sentenced a soldier to five years for rape and assault in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Corporal Aliyu Yakubu was serving with 202 Tank Battalion in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations before the rape and assault of 15-year-old Inna Ameh Modu in Bama.

She was reportedly raped on July 1, 2018, in an uncompleted building behind Bama correctional centre.

While passing judgment on Wednesday at the Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, President of General Court Martial, Brig-Gen. Ekubi Arikpo, said the five-year jail term and dismissal were for counts one and two against Yakubu.

“The sentencing and dismissal of Cpl. Yukubu from service is according to the Armed Forces Act, 2004, sections 78 and 10 (2a),” he said, noting that five witnesses testified before the court with 10 exhibits.

The exhibits presented before the court include a medical report of rape.

RELATEDLY, Yobe State Police Command has arrested eight suspected kidnappers and a rapist in the last two months.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Dungus Abdulkarim, disclosed this in Damaturu while briefing journalists on the abduction of Yau Adamu and his son, Umar, in Duja village of Fika Council.

He said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Fika had deployed a combined team of policemen and vigilante groups and rescued the child.

During the period under review, personnel of Divisional Police Headquarters, Fika, led by the DPO, rescued 13-year-old Umar Yau from his kidnappers.

According to him, four kidnappers had taken Adamu and his son to an unknown destination but later released the father.

While demanding ransom, he was reportedly given live ammunition of AK-47 rifle, an Airtel Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card, and a letter written in Hausa demanding N3 million ransom.

He said the payment of ransom was to spare his life and secure the immediate release of his son.

MEANWHILE, Kebbi State House of Assembly has promised to enact a law to curb the high rate of rape, homosexuality, and other sexual offences in the state.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the public hearing with the state’s chief judge and other judicial officers yesterday, the House Committee Chairman on Justice and judiciary, Aminu Bunza, said the two bills sent to the House by the governor had passed second reading.

Expressing happiness over the bills, Bunza assured the citizens that the lawmakers would make the bills a reality and recommend a penalty for offenders.