The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested a 60-year-old traditional ruler, Abubakar Ya’u, for allegedly raping an eight-year-old primary school pupil.
The traditional ruler, who is the village head of Kargo in Garki Local Government Area of Jigawa State, was paraded at the State Police Command Headquarters alongside three other rapists arrested at different locations within the state.
The command’s spokesperson, Abdu Jinjiri, who represented the Commissioner of Police, Mr Henry Fadairo, disclosed that the arrest of the village head, followed complaints lodged by the victim’s mother at the Garki Police Station that her daughter was abducted on her way to school and raped by Ya’u.
In an interview with newsmen, the arrested monarch denied the accusations, insisting that he never committed such an offence, claiming rather that he had a dispute with the mother of the said victim over a debt.
According to the police spokesperson, the command has recorded no fewer than 57 rape cases from January to June this year adding that 32 of these involved girls and 25 are of sodomy against minors.
