The Abia State Government has secured the conviction of two child sexual offenders, who were sentenced to 30 and 10 years’ imprisonment respectively in separate defilement cases, in what it described as a major breakthrough in the state’s campaign against sexual and gender-based violence.
One of the offenders, a 35-year-old man from Akwa Ibom State, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by a Family Court sitting at the High Court in Umuahia for defiling a five-year-old girl, while another 32-year-old man received a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of defiling a 13-year-old girl.
The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Umuahia while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.
Kanu said the convictions underscored the administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards sexual offences and served as a warning to perpetrators.
He noted that the convictions were among the landmark achievements of the state’s Nchedo Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the General Hospital, Aba.
