31-year-old Mallam Zakaria, has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment following his attempted escape from a Chief Magistrate’s court in Adamawa state after he was convicted of abandoning Maryam Usman, whom he impregnated.
The court had earlier sentenced Zakaria to two years’ imprisonment upon conviction for abandoning Maryam, a woman he impregnated.
It was gathered that Maryam had on June 16, 2021, lodged a complaint at the Divisional Police Headquarters in Girei that the suspect impregnated her.
The woman added that after she broke the news to him, Zakaria started avoiding her and also stopped taking her calls.
She claimed that the convict conspired with the operator of a pharmacy, Sunday Assoga, to remove the pregnancy after he resurfaced with the chemist, who unsuccessfully administered abortion pills to her.
The convict admitted to committing the crime, while his alleged co-conspirator was left off the hook at the resumed hearing of the case on June 28, 2021.
Magistrate Adamu Abdulrazak, while ruling on July 2, convicted and sentenced the defendant to two years’ imprisonment with an option of fine of N150,000.
But shortly after his conviction, Zakaria, who asked for permission to urinate, fled the court.
Zakaria was said to have scaled the court fence but was caught by the prosecutor and other security personnel with the assistance of pedestrians and bystanders.
The magistrate, who was angered by the suspect’s action, recalled his case file and invoked Section 138 of the state penal code law and slammed him with seven years’ jail term for attempted escape, totalling nine years in prison without any option of fine.