A court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno state capital, has convicted Martins Owerem of the Nigerian air force (NAF), of raping a 14-year old internally displaced person (IDP).
Owerem was said to have defiled the girl when he was officer in
charge of the special force battalion, near Bakassi IDP camp, in 2018.
Thereafter, the convict was charged with defilement, assault and disobedient to standing order.
Earlier, Aminu Mairuwa, prosecution counsel, told the court that the
convict on September 29, 2018, while on patrol duty at Kawon Jiya
community in the outskirts of Maiduguri, arrested some girls who were
collecting firewood, on the pretext that they crossed into a restricted
area.
Mairuwa said the convict took one of the girls into the bush and raped her.
However, Abbas Abba, defense counsel, sought for leniency for the
convict “in view of his selfless service and contributions in the
counter insurgency campaign.”
In his ruling, Yakubu Auta, president of the court, held that the
court found Owerem guilty on the two count charges of rape and assault.
He added that the court also found the officer guilty on the first
and second-count charge, while it discharged and acquitted him on the
third-count charge.
Auta held that the prosecution, through five witnesses and four exhibits, have proved their case beyond reasonable doubts.
The judge, therefore, ordered dismissal of the convict from service on the first count charge.
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