A young man was sentenced to 15 strokes of public caning by Magistrate Farida Ibrahim at the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, over an allegedly beating a prostitute.
The incident was revealed by human rights activist Omoyele Sowore, who witnessed the sentencing and posted a short video of the punishment on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday.
In the 4-second clip, the man was seen lying flat on the ground as another individual flogged him in the court premises.
Sowore described the ruling as “bizarre,” alleging that the sentence was delivered without legal representation for the accused and was based solely on police claims that he confessed to fighting a prostitute.
“I just witnessed a bizarre sentence at the Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse 6, Abuja. Magistrate Farida Ibrahim sentenced this youngster to 15 strokes of public caning, the sentence against him without a lawyer, based on police evidence that he confessed to fighting a prostitute!” he posted.
The video has since sparked mixed reactions online.
Achebe Ebuka said, “Police confessions in Nigeria have a notorious history, often extracted under duress, coercion, or outright torture . Any court worth its integrity should treat such evidence with suspicion, not as gospel. Basing a sentence on nothing but a confession to fighting a prostitute without thorough investigation, corroborative evidence, or due process is reckless and unacceptable.”
Another user, Angel N. Tucker, wrote, “These things make me sad. Like what a nonsense. No defense. The system has lost its reason for existence.”