Adultery Conviction: Abuja Court Sentences Lovers to Three Months Imprisonment
A Gwagwalada Magistrates’ Court in Abuja has sentenced two lovers, Mohammed Nazifi, 30, and Bilkisu Ibrahim, 25, to three months imprisonment each for adultery.
Nazifi and Ibrahim were charged with a one-count offense of adultery, to which they both pleaded guilty. During the hearing, Nazifi, a married man with children, pleaded for leniency, while Ibrahim also begged for mercy, citing her responsibility for a three-year-old child and an aged mother.
Initially, Magistrate Olatunji Oladunmoye had remanded the convicts, allowing them time to provide a witness who could vouch for their good character. However, they were unable to present one, leading to their sentencing.
Oladunmoye sentenced them to three months in prison each but gave them the option of paying a fine of N25,000 each in lieu of incarceration. He emphasized that the purpose of the punishment was not to ruin their lives but to reform them and serve as a deterrent to others.
The prosecutor, Dabo Yakubu, informed the court that the case was reported by the complainant, Mr. Dayabe Abdullahi of Chibiri Village, Kuje, Abuja, at the Area Command, Gwagwalada, Abuja, on January 16.
Yakubu stated that the two individuals conspired and engaged in sexual intercourse, an act they both admitted to in their statements. He explained that their actions violated Sections 387 and 388 of the Penal Code, which criminalizes extra-marital sexual relations under customary law.
According to these legal provisions, adultery is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both, depending on the court’s discretion.
The ruling has sparked discussions on the enforcement of adultery laws in Nigeria, particularly in regions governed by customary laws where such offenses are recognized as criminal acts.
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