by the provisions of Section 36(5) of the CFRN 1999 as amended and the provisions of Section 135 of the Evidence Act 2011 which provides that whoever assert the existence of a particular fact, has a duty to prove it if he wants him to be believed. From the charge with which the defendant was arraigned, the defendant was alleged to have committed the offence of rape contrary to Section 259 and punishable under Section 260 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019 against one Fatima Hassan of 15 years old on or about the 19th day of July, 2019 by attacking the said Fatima Hassan in the bush at the outskirt of Kumbula Village of Sabon Birni Local Government Area of Sokoto State. In its efforts to prove its case, the prosecution called three (3) witnesses and tendered five (5) exhibits. Section 259 of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law which defines rape, provides as follows:“A person is said to commit rape who, save in the case referred to in subsection (2), has sexual intercourse with a person in any of the following circumstances:a) against her will; or b) without her consent; or c) with her consent when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt; or d) with her consent when the person knows he is not the persons spouse Page 9 of 19

Select target paragraph3