Abuja, Nigeria — November 1, 2025 | Dalena Reporters
A teacher in the Federal Capital Territory has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the option of fine for the rape of a nine-year-old pupil, in a case that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the judiciary described as a landmark verdict in Nigeria’s fight against child sexual abuse.
The convict, 19-year-old Abdullahi Abbass, was employed as a teacher at a school in Kwali, a suburb of Abuja. According to NAPTIP’s statement, the offence occurred on 19 March 2025 after school hours when the accused sent another pupil to call the victim from home, then led the child to a street nearby and raped the victim “through the anus.
The case was heard at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, presided over by Justice M. Osho-Adebiyi. The teacher had been arraigned on a two-count charge of rape and sexual abuse in contravention of Section 2 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015 (VAPP Act) and was convicted on 29 October 2025.
In its reaction, NAPTIP commended the judiciary and its partners, saying the judgment is evidence of “the present management’s renewed commitment and determination to tackle the incidence of domestic violence, rape and other forms of sexual abuse in the country.
The Director-General of NAPTIP, Binta Adamu Bello, stated that the teacher’s name will be placed prominently in the agency’s Sex Offenders Register. She thanked the police for their collaboration and highlighted this sentencing as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
This verdict comes amid growing calls by civil society organisations for stronger enforcement of child-protection laws in Nigeria, where reports of sexual abuse of minors remain high and judicial outcomes frequently weak or delayed. The life sentence signals a major step in shifting perception and raising accountability for crimes against children.