Plateau: Amnesty Condemns Withdrawal of Four-Year-Old’s Sexual Abuse Case

Amnesty International Nigeria has criticised the Plateau State Government over the discontinuation of a defilement case involving a four-year-old girl, calling for the prosecution to be reinstated. The case was before the Plateau State High Court in Jos until May 2026, when the Ministry of Justice discontinued the proceedings under the constitutional powers of the Attorney-General. Amnesty Country Director, Isa Sanusi, said the decision was particularly concerning because the accused had allegedly repeatedly failed to appear in court and a bench warrant had reportedly been issued for his arrest. He questioned how discontinuing a mid-trial sexual abuse case involving a child could serve the public interest and called on Governor Caleb Mutfwang to intervene. Amnesty also raised concerns about the implications of the decision for the Plateau State Child Rights Law, 2005, and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law, 2022.

Amnesty Programme Manager, Barbara Magaji, said the organisation had previously contacted the state Attorney-General and petitioned the governor for clarification but had not received a response from Mutfwang. She acknowledged the Attorney-General’s constitutional authority to discontinue criminal proceedings but argued that the power should be exercised in line with the interests of justice and protection of the survivor. Prosecution counsel Stella Samuel said the accused had been served with court processes but repeatedly failed to attend proceedings, while the prosecution had witnesses and evidence ready for trial. She said the case remained prosecutable and could be reinstated. The Let The Case Proceed Campaign also urged the government to allow the court to determine the allegations. Meanwhile, efforts to obtain a response from Plateau State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Philemon Daffi, were unsuccessful, as his telephone was switched off when contacted.

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