Vice Principal accused of impregnating student gets N1m bail

Mohammed Mohammed, a school Vice Principal accused of impregnating his 16-year-old student, was on Tuesday granted N1 million bail by a Minna Magistrate’s Court.
Magistrate Fatima Auna, who ruled on Mohammed’s bail application, said that the bail was in line with sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 constitution, and sections 341 and 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Mohammed, Vice Principal of Government Secondary School, Tunga in Niger, was first arraigned on April 4, but pleaded not guilty to the charge and applied for bail.
The accused, who had been in prison custody since the arraignment, also challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
In her ruling, Auna granted the bail application and also ordered the accused to produce one surety, who must be a civil servant on grade level 12 or above.
She also ruled that the offence was well within the jurisdiction of her court to entertain.
Mohammed is standing trial on a two-count charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child, and impregnating a female student.
The Police Prosecutor, Mr Hussaini Paiko, had told the court that one Sokombo Danjuma reported the matter at the Child Rights Agency which, in turn, transferred it to the police.
He said that the offences contravened sections 18 (2) and 25 (3) of the Child Rights Law of Niger State.