A Kano State High Court has sentenced a football coach, Hayatu Muhammad, to eight years in prison without the option of a fine for sodomising one of his underage players.
Justice Musa Dahuru Muhammad, who delivered the judgment on Wednesday, found the defendant guilty of committing the offence on two separate occasions at different locations within Dala Local Government Area.
Muhammad, a resident of Sanka, had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges.
To establish the case, state counsel Ibrahim Arif Garba presented five witnesses, all of whom testified against the accused. The convict, however, served as the only witness in his own defence.
The court held that the prosecution successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, ruling that the offence violated Section 284 of the Penal Code Law.
Justice Dahuru consequently sentenced the coach to four years’ imprisonment on each of the two counts, to run concurrently from the date of the judgment.
