Amnesty International demands reinstatement of Plateau child defilement case

Amnesty International Nigeria has called on the Plateau State Government to reinstate a criminal case involving the alleged defilement of a four-year-old girl. The organization described the discontinuance of the trial as a “miscarriage of justice” and an abuse of the legal process.

The case, which was before the Plateau State High Court in Jos, was discontinued by the Plateau State Attorney General’s office by invoking Section 211 of the 1999 Constitution. Amnesty International Country Director Isa Sanusi noted that the decision allowed the defendant to go free despite a standing bench warrant for his arrest due to previous failures to appear in court.

Amnesty International and other civil society groups are urging Governor Caleb Mutfwang to direct the reinstatement of charges. They argue that the Attorney General’s power to discontinue proceedings must be exercised in the public interest and that the court should be permitted to determine the defendant's guilt or innocence through due process.