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The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested Zayyanu Halilu for reportedly raping a 12-year-old girl inside a parked vehicle at Airport Bridge Taxi Park, Abuja. The girl was found to be about three months pregnant.
The command’s spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday, October 3, 2026. According to the police, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, on routine patrol on October 2, noticed a fully tinted navy blue Volkswagen parked with its windows wound up and the vehicle shaking. Suspecting foul play, the officers opened the car and allegedly found Halilu raping the child.
Preliminary investigation, the command said, showed that the suspect had lured and sexually abused the girl on several occasions in the same vehicle at the same location, and threatened to “deal with her” if she told anyone. A medical examination then revealed the pregnancy. The girl is receiving medical care and assessment, while the suspect remains in police custody and will be charged to court after investigations conclude.
The police did not disclose the girl’s identity, her relationship to the suspect, who she was living with, or what charges Halilu will face. NFM could not independently verify the details that come from the police statement.
Girls and young people carry the heaviest burden of sexual violence in Nigeria. A review of the policy environment by African Women in Media cites the 2021 Sexual Assault Referral Centres report, which found that females (88%) and people under 18 (80%) are the primary victims of sexual offences.
This case shows how child sexual abuse survives: through repeated access, threats that enforce silence, and adults who do not notice. A 12-year-old was allegedly abused over months in a public taxi park, and it took a pregnancy and a chance patrol for anyone to find out.
