Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The nightmare began in 2016. It did not end until 2022. For six agonising years, two security guards in an Abuja estate systematically violated a young girl who was just six years old when the first assault occurred. On Friday, May 15, 2026, Justice S.M. Mayana of the Federal Capital Territory High Court 46 in Apo, Abuja, brought that nightmare to an end by sentencing James Sule, 30, and Adamu Yau, 25, to life imprisonment without the option of a fine under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015. The prosecution was led by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The harrowing details of the case, presented through five prosecution witnesses and seven exhibits, paint a chilling picture of how a trusted family employee manipulated a child’s trust and then weaponised her fear to keep her silent for nearly half her childhood. The abuse was eventually uncovered after the victim’s parents noticed a drastic change in her behaviour, including extreme agitation whenever Sule entered the house and her refusal to let him escort her to school. After she confided in a local pastor, the matter was reported to the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH) and subsequently transferred to NAPTIP. Medical evidence presented in court confirmed the physical trauma she had suffered.
The victim’s grandmother had asked James Sule, then the family’s security guard at an estate in Lugbe, to repair a broken toilet in their residence. While the grandmother returned to the kitchen, Sule remained in the toilet. The young girl, then six years old, was crying on a bed after spoiling a cello tape. Sule called her into the toilet, promising that he would help prevent her grandmother from punishing her. Instead, he locked the door, forcibly removed her pants, and raped her while covering her mouth. Afterwards, he brought out a knife and threatened her never to tell anyone.
In a shocking twist that exposed the rot within Nigeria’s private security industry, Sule did not stop at his own acts of depravity. He later recruited two other guards in the estate: the second convict, Adamu Yau, and a third individual named Muhammed, who remains at large. Together, they abused the victim whenever opportunities arose, threatening to kill and wipe out her entire family if she ever spoke a word about their acts.
Over time, the victim’s parents noticed troubling changes in their daughter’s behaviour. She became visibly agitated whenever Sule entered the house and refused to let him escort her to school or pick her up from the school bus. In a bid to get an explanation for her sudden, strange behaviour, her parents took her to a prayer house, where she confided in the pastor that Sule, Yau, and Muhammed had been sexually abusing her, particularly whenever she returned from school before her parents arrived home.
Her parents immediately reported the matter to the Association for Reproductive and Family Health (ARFH), which subsequently transferred the case to NAPTIP. The convicts were arrested, and charges were filed in court on February 9, 2023. They were arraigned on October 23, 2023, on two counts under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015. Both pleaded not guilty, and the trial commenced on December 5, 2023.
The prosecution presented five witnesses, including the victim’s mother, who testified tearfully before the court. The prosecution also tendered seven exhibits, including a medical report confirming that the victim’s hymen was breached. Despite the not‑guilty pleas, the court found the evidence overwhelming and convicted both men. Delivering the sentence, Justice Mayana handed down life imprisonment without the option of a fine.
NAPTIP’s Director General, Binta Adamu Bello, hailed the verdict as a landmark victory for justice. “This is a clear message to all violators that NAPTIP is closing in on them,” she said. “Indeed, adequate justice which is commensurate with the magnitude of the crime committed by the convicts has been duly served on them. This will go a long way to assuage the pain and traumatic experience of the victim and her family.”
Bello said the conviction was a result of improved strategies to enforce the VAPP Act and issued a stern warning to service providers. “It will no longer be business as usual for them,” she said. She also urged the public to exercise greater caution when hiring domestic staff. “I also want to use this medium to appeal again to all Nigerians, especially parents and school owners, to ensure they carry out due diligence and strict profiling on any service providers, including drivers, security guards, and babysitters, before employing them.”
The victim’s mother, whose identity has been protected, expressed gratitude to NAPTIP and its legal team for ensuring that justice was served on the violators of her daughter. The two convicts, James Sule and Adamu Yau, have been transferred to the Kuje Correctional Centre, where they will spend the rest of their natural lives. The third suspect, Muhammed, remains at large, and NAPTIP has vowed to continue the manhunt to bring him to justice.
This case highlights the ongoing crisis of sexual violence against children in Nigeria and the growing willingness of the judiciary to impose maximum sentences under the VAPP Act. In 2025, the Nigerian Senate passed a law prescribing life imprisonment for child defilement, and this judgment reflects a judicial system that is beginning to take those provisions seriously. For the victim, now 16 years old, the sentence brings a measure of closure, but the scars of six years of abuse will remain. For her parents, it is a reminder that the people they trust to protect their children can sometimes be the greatest danger. For society, it is a call to action: background checks are not optional; they are a necessity.
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