An upper area court judge had to adjourn judgement on a rape case involving a 25-year-old married man and a five-year-old girl after the case file suddenly went missing.
The case had been slated for judgement on Tuesday but toward the end of court session, the judge, Umar Isa of Upper Area Court III in Yola realized that no mention was made of the case which attracted the attention of the public.
The judge then directed a court clerk to get the file but he returned to tell the judge that the file was nowhere to be seen and that the registrar was not on seat to shed more light on its possible whereabouts.
The judge adjourned the case to 4th January, 2020 to the dismay of some members of civil society and women groups who gathered to witness the judgment
“The other time, it was shifted because of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Week and today the file is nowhere to be found”.
“We are here full of hope that our quest for justice for a survivor of rape is here at last only to get this shock,” said Nuwama Ishaku, the Human Right Desk Officer at the Centre for Women and Adolescent Empowerment, Yola,
Women representatives from Lelewarji ward, the community where the Incident happened, Hadiza Hamidu and Aisha Ahmed, expressed dismay over the delay.
