One Idris Munkaila will spend the rest of his life prison, after a Jigawa State High Court in Birnin Kudu sentenced him to life imprisonment for raping and infecting his six-year-old sister-in-law with HIV.
The convict had earlier been forced to marry the sister of the victim after he was found to have also infected her with HIV.
The spokesperson of the state’s Ministry of Justice, Zainab Baba-Santali, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
Baba-Santali said Mr Munkaila, a resident of Sara in Gwaram Local Government Area of the state, committed the crime in June 2017.
The judge, Musa Ubale, on October 5, found him guilty of rape, an offence punishable under Section 283 of the Penal Code Law of Jigawa State, the statement said.
Mrs Baba-Santali said Mr Munkaila was found to have lured the little girl (name withheld) and scolded her not to tell anyone after raping her.
According to the spokesperson, a few days later, the mother of the victim observed a whitish discharge from her private part and the girl then revealed her violation by the convict.
She added that evidence before the court revealed that the defendant previously had also infected the sister of the girl with HIV after an affair with her just before she was to be handed out in marriage to another man.
“The sister informed her parents that it was the defendant (Mr Munkaila) who infected her with HIV.
“The marriage was cancelled and the sister of the prosecutrix was married to the defendant based on arrangement by their families.
“However, the mother of the prosecutrix having known the defendant’s HIV status, she took her 6-year-old daughter to the hospital for medical test,” Baba-Santali said.
“The defendant was later arrested and charged to court for the offence of rape.
“In proof of the case the prosecution called five (5) witnesses, and tendered two (2) exhibits and the defendant testified for himself.
“Both counsel to the parties addressed the court.
“They found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, thereby convicted the defendant and sentenced him to life imprisonment as provided under the Jigawa State Penal Code Miscellaneous Amendment, 2014,” the statement said.
