Young Abuja Teacher Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Raping 9-Year-Old Pupil
Nigeria’s fight against child sexual abuse gained momentum on October 29, 2025, when the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja condemned 19-year-old teacher Abdullahi Abbass to life behind bars for the anal rape of his nine-year-old male pupil. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) welcomed the decision as a “landmark judgment,” hailing it as a beacon of hope for survivors and a fierce deterrent for predators. Under Justice M. Osho-Adebiyi’s gavel, the court exposed the depths of Abbass’s betrayal. As the boy’s class teacher at a private school in the Kwali Area Council, he weaponized trust on March 19, 2025. After classes ended, Abbass dispatched another student to retrieve the child from home, only to drag him to a shadowed street for the unspeakable assault. In a testament to resilience, the young victim wasted no time in revealing his ordeal to his mother, igniting a chain of events that led to Abbass’s arrest and trial on charges of rape and sexual abuse. The conviction invoked Section 2 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015, enforcing the maximum penalty of life imprisonment and reinforcing the law’s unyielding shield for the innocent.NAPTIP’s Director-General, Binta Adamu Bello, spotlighted the verdict’s ripple effects, applauding the seamless teamwork with the Nigerian Police and judicial partners. “This fitting retribution will echo through our Sex Offenders Register, warding off would-be violators,” she asserted. Bello spotlighted the expedited probe as proof of NAPTIP’s redoubled zeal in dismantling networks of domestic violence, rape, and sexual predation nationwide, vowing an unrelenting push for justice everywhere.Grim Parallel: 12-Year Sentence for Seminary Teacher in Anambra Defilement CaseThe Abuja ruling casts a harsh light on a pervasive scourge, mirrored in Anambra State’s recent reckoning. On June 19, 2025, a Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka imprisoned 34-year-old teacher Pascal Ofomata for 12 years after he defiled his 11-year-old male JSS 1 pupil at St. Christopher’s Junior Seminary in Onitsha. Justice Peace Otti, presiding, held Ofomata accountable under Sections 3(1) and 4(1) of the Violence Against Persons Act for rape and bodily harm. As these verdicts unfold against a backdrop of escalating child safety alarms, they affirm the courts’ hardening resolve to uproot abuse from educational sanctuaries. On November 2, 2025, activists implore bolstered school oversight, trauma-informed resources for victims, and societal awakening to safeguard tomorrow’s guardians from yesterday’s monsters.