Nigerian Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Ireland for Forcing Abortion on Woman

An Irish court has sentenced a Nigerian man to nine years in prison for forcing a woman to take abortion pills and unlawfully ending her pregnancy, in a case that shocked the court with details of planning, threats, and abuse.

The man, identified as Adeleke Adelani, received the sentence at the Letterkenny Circuit Court in County Donegal.

According to the judge, he described the offence as an “extreme act of physical and emotional violence,” noting the serious harm caused to the victim.

The court handed Adelani an 11-year jail term for unlawfully terminating the pregnancy, with the final two years suspended. He was also sentenced to five years for assault causing harm, with the last 12 months suspended.

Both sentences will run at the same time, leaving him to serve nine years in custody. He is already serving a separate seven-year sentence for another offence.

In his ruling, Judge John Aylmer said the crime was carefully planned. He told the court that Adelani carried out research online and fully understood that the woman wanted to keep her baby. Despite this, he went ahead with actions that caused lasting emotional damage.

Evidence before the court showed that the woman became pregnant in 2019, a pregnancy both parties agreed to end.

However, when she became pregnant again in early 2020, she decided to keep the child. Adelani pretended to support her decision and invited her to his home on February 14, 2020.

Prosecutors said the visit turned violent. Adelani forced the woman to swallow five misoprostol tablets and threatened her when she resisted. The court heard that he warned he would beat the unborn child out of her if she refused.

After forcing her to take the drugs, he locked her inside a bedroom and left the house. The woman later contacted the police, who arrived at the scene and arrested him that same afternoon.

Investigators seized his mobile phone, which remained locked for years due to his refusal to provide access. When officers eventually gained entry, they found recorded conversations in which he told the woman she had to abort the pregnancy. One of the recordings was played in open court.

Medical reports showed that the woman became seriously ill after taking the pills. She suffered severe pain, fever, heavy bleeding, and uncontrollable shivering.

In a victim impact statement read in court, the woman said she had forgiven Adelani but stressed that forgiveness did not excuse his actions.

“When he wrongfully imprisoned me and caused the termination of my nine-week pregnancy, he took far more than my freedom,” she said.

“He took my child. He took my sense of safety. He took a future that I had already begun to plan and love.”

During police questioning, Adelani denied responsibility and refused to cooperate.

However, in a later letter to the court, he claimed to accept full responsibility and apologised for his actions.

After the sentencing, a senior police officer praised the victim for her courage and determination throughout the investigation and trial.