The Court of Appeal, sitting in Sokoto has sentenced one Sani Ibrahim to life imprisonment for sodomizing two Qur’anic school pupils otherwise known as Almajiris.
In the unanimous judgment which was read by Justice Ebiowei Tobi, the appellant court set aside the judgement of the lower court which gave him a lighter sentence.
The lower court was said to have sentenced him to three years imprisonment for trespassing and this was contested at the appeal Court by the state.
According to Justice Tobi, the lower court erred to have said that the testimonies of PW 2 and 3 who were the victims were not enough to convict the respondent for alleged unnatural offence.
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“These are the direct eye witness accounts which should not be ignored by the lower court,” he said
He added that the medical report of PW3 also confirmed penetration.
Justice Tobi noted that the offence was not only condemnable but a crime against the nature.
“I therefore set aside the judgment of the lower court and sentence the respondent to life-imprisonment,” he affirmed.
Speaking shortly after the judgement, the Chief State Counsel, Barrister Murtala Gidanmadi, hailed the verdict which he said would serve as deterrent for those into unnatural act.