Bauchi head teacher sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for defiling 6-year-old girl

Justice Nana Fatimah Jibrin, the Presiding Judge of Bauchi State High Court No. 11, has sentenced Jalaludeen Zakari, a head teacher in Burra, Ningi Local Government Area of the state, to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl. 

The girl had been at the school for an admission screening but Zakari detained her for hours after official school closing hours.

Barrister Dayabu Ayuba, the prosecuting counsel and a state counsel with the Bauchi State Ministry of Justice, who disclosed this during an interview with newsmen on Tuesday, January 2, 2023, said the convict inserted his finger into the girl’s private parts.

Ayuba said that during the trial, three witnesses, including the victim, testified before the court.

“The perpetrator asked his victim to stay back, dismissing all other pupils without providing a reason for her extended stay. While she was left behind, the assailant subjected her to sexual assault, an act equivalent to rape in legal terms,” he said.

Ayuba said that the sentencing occurred in July of this year after Jalaludeen pleaded with the court for leniency.