By ONIMISI ALAO, Yola

A magistrate court in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, has handed a man a nine-year jail term for deserting a girl he impregnated and for attempting to desert justice when it was pronounced on him.

The man, Zakaria Mallam who was brought before the court by his girlfriend, Maryam Usman, for abandoning her after he got her pregnant, was found guilty and sentenced to two years with an option of fine, but his immediate response was to break into a run out of the court in an attempt to escape.

When pursued and brought back, the court recalled his case file and slapped him seven years in correctional confinement with no option of fine.

Zakaria who is of Pariya village in Fufore local government area, was charged to the Chief Magistrate Court 4 in Yola for deserting Maryam who is of Unguwan Yungur, in the same Fufore LGA, after he put her in a family way, following which she first lodged a complaint to the Police.

She told the court that after she broke the news to him, he started evading her and rejecting her calls but subsequently turning up only to start conniving with a neighbour to deceive her into terminating the pregnancy.

She said Zakaria conspired with the neighbour, Sunday Assoga, who owns a patent medicine store and deceived her into accepting the administration of some hard drugs on her, but that the attempted abortion failed.

Zakaria who was arrested by the police and charged to court on the 18th June 2021, admitted committing the crime, after which the court made adjournments until finally ruling on the case, the court, presided over by Magistrate Adamu Abdulrazak, convicted and sentenced him to two years imprisonment with N150, 000 option of fine.

On the pronouncement of the judgement, Zakaria reacted by rushing out of the court hall and out of the court premises, but court security details who realized that he was attempting an escape, ran after him and succeeded in returning him to the court.

He was taken before the judge who recalled his case file and invoked section 138 of the state penal code law, handing him seven years jail term without the option of fine, taking his total term to nine years. (The Nation)

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