Woman, 42, Jailed For Aiding Daughter To Commit Abortion

A 42 years old housewife, Mrs Martha Waziri, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment by a Kaffin Koro Senior Magistrate’s Court for aborting four months old pregnancy of her daughter.She was arraigned on two-count charge of conspiracy and causing abortion, an offence punishable under sections 232 and 97 of the penal code.

Police in Kaffin Koro had on August, 2014 arrested and charged her to court following a report against her by the man (name withheld) who impregnated her daughter.

The police, after conducting investigation into the matter, discovered that Mrs Waziri was liable to the offence as she admitted that she prepared a concoction for her to cure a typhoid and malaria that her daughter claimed had been disturbing her.

According to the charge sheet, “You Martha Waziri, on August 7, 2014 at Kaffin Koro area prepared a concoction suspected to be a chemical for committing abortion and gave to your daughter Juliana Waziri, 18, with the intention of aborting her four months old pregnancy which you alleged was gotten out of wedlock.”

When the charge was, however, read to her by the Presiding Magistrate Mrs Ruth Ibrahim, Mrs Waziri pleaded guilty to the charge and the Prosecutor, Inspector Augustine Agbor told the court to try the suspect summarily under section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Court (CPC).

In her ruling the magistrate described it as an unfortunate act that a mother will give her daughter a concoction to commit an abortion and therefore sentenced her to eight months imprisonment with an option of N10,000 fine and N5,000 compensation.