A Minna Senior Magistrate Court 3 has ordered the remand of an Islamic teacher in the facility of Nigeria Correctional Service, for inflicting injuries on a minor.
The Islamic teacher, Nura Suleiman, was ordered to be remanded on the orders of the Presiding Senior Magistrate, Halima Yusuf, after he pleaded not guilty to a three-count charge brought against him by the Police.
The arrest and prosecution of the accused followed a tip-off which the Niger State Child Rights Agency in Suleja received after Suleiman allegedly used an electric cable to whip the minor, as a result of which the victim sustained injuries to all parts of his body.
The Islamic teacher, according to the Police prosecutor, Inspector Emma Bassa, had inflicted similar injuries on one of his 11-year-old Islamic pupil sometime in 2023. The accused was arraigned on three-count charges of causing hurt without provocation, cruelty to children, and ill-treatment of a child.
According to the Police First Information Report (FIR), marked MN/CR/21/2024, the three count charges were punishable under Sections 246, 238 (a) of the Penal Code law, and Section 25 of the Niger State Child Rights and Protection Law 2021, as amended.
MUST READ: Terrorists Kill 6, Abduct 20 Women In Niger State
When the charges were read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty. However, the prosecution told the Court that during earlier Police investigations, the defendant had admitted committing the offence, attributing it to the devil.
His defense counsel, Barrister Bawa Mijinyawa, then made an oral application for his bail, which was objected to by the prosecutor, arguing that the case has national interest, as the injuries sustained by the pupil went viral on social media platforms. The prosecutor then urged the Court to remand the defendant in a Correctional custody for further mention.
The presiding Senior Magistrate, Halima Yusuf, then ordered the accused Islamic teacher to be remanded, and adjourned the case till February 19, 2024.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)
