50-year-old man bags 21-year jail term for raping 14-year-old girl

An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo has sentenced a 50-year-old tricycle operator to 21 years in prison after he was convicted of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in the Ibesikpo Asutan area of the state.

The convict, Ime Edet Akpan, a married father of five from Akamba Nsukara Offot in Uyo Local Government Area, was convicted and sentenced on Thursday, June 11, 2026.

According to Harrison Essien, a judiciary reporter who covered the proceedings, Akpan committed the offence while visiting his mistress at her residence in Nung Udoe, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area. Finding her absent, he sexually assaulted the minor, who was bathing at the time, in the deserted compound.

In his confession before the court, Akpan admitted to the assault. “I held her and had unlawful carnal knowledge of her and there was nobody in the compound,” he said, adding that he would take responsibility for the pregnancy.

The victim, whose identity is protected under law, became pregnant as a result of the assault.

The 21-year custodial sentence is consistent with Nigeria’s Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child Rights Act, both of which prescribe severe penalties for sexual offences against minors.