For kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old orphan (name withheld), Mr. Matthew Uyangha was given a 25-year prison term.
According to NAN, Uyangha was given a prison sentence on Thursday by Justice Blessing Egwu of the Calabar Division of the High Court of Cross River.
The adolescent girl was drugged, kidnapped, and taken someplace in Esuk Utan in the Calabar Municipality by the rapist from the state’s Akpabuyo Local Government Area.
He committed two months’ worth of nonstop rapes there before being apprehended by members of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Justice Egwu found Uyangha guilty of a two-count charge bordering on kidnapping and rape on Thursday after concluding that the evidence against him was compelling.
In response to the ruling, Mr. James Ibor, Principal Counsel of the Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), praised the State and Judiciary for their commitment to protecting children.
According to Ibor, “the judgement showed that there is no place for rapists in Cross River as the judgement is a strong statement that the State is willing to uphold the true spirit of the Child Rights Law, among others.”
