Woman Convicted in Maiduguri for Procuring Minor, Receives Two‑Year Sentence

"A Borno State High Court sitting in Maiduguri has sentenced a 37-year-old woman, Fatima Sanda, to two years’ imprisonment for procuring a 16-year-old girl for sexual exploitation.

We learnt on Wednesday that the conviction was secured by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons on Monday.

NAPTIP disclosed in a statement published on its Facebook page that the court also ordered Sanda to pay N500,000 in compensation to the victim.

The statement read, “A High Court of Justice, Court 10, sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State, presided over by Hon. Justice Aisha M. Ndume, has convicted Fatima Sanda (37, female) for procuring a 16-year-old female victim and subjecting her to sexual exploitation by other persons, contrary to Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, as amended.

“She was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay N500,000 in compensation to the victim.”

The conviction came about a month after a Niger State High Court sitting in Minna sentenced a 27-year-old man, Hussaini Suleiman, to seven years’ imprisonment for Quarters an eight-year-old girl at his residence behind the Prison Quarters in Minna.

NAPTIP said Suleiman pleaded guilty to the offence.

According to the agency, the case was referred to its Niger State Command by the state command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on April 16, 2026, following a report of the rape of the minor.

“The convict admitted to committing the offence and was arraigned before Court 8 of the Niger State High Court, Minna, on 10th September 2026,” the statement added."You want this rewritten professionally while keeping the same facts. Below is a polished version.

A Borno State High Court in Maiduguri has sentenced 37-year-old Fatima Sanda to two years’ imprisonment for procuring a 16-year-old girl for sexual exploitation.

The conviction was secured by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and announced on the agency’s Facebook page. The court, presided over by Hon. Justice Aisha M. Ndume (Court 10), found Sanda guilty of violating Section 16(1) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015, as amended. In addition to the custodial sentence, the judge ordered Sanda to pay N500,000 in compensation to the victim.

The Borno ruling follows another recent conviction: a Niger State High Court in Minna sentenced 27-year-old Hussaini Suleiman to seven years’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to raping an eight-year-old girl at his residence behind the Prison Quarters in Minna. NAPTIP said the case was referred to its Niger State Command by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on April 16, 2026, and Suleiman was arraigned before Court 8 of the Niger State High Court on September 10, 2026.