An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic
Violence Court on Tuesday, sentenced a 27-year-old electrician, Olamide
Ayodele, to life imprisonment for defiling the eight-year-old daughter of a man
that gave him shelter.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the
convict was 25 years old when he committed the offence.
Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the
prosecution had convincingly proved the charge of defilement against the
convict.
According to Soladoye, the court found that
the evidence of the respective prosecution witnesses were believable and
consistent.
She said, “The defendant is immoral, a mega
liar, ungrateful, unkind, ruthless and rash in his conduct considering that the
survivor’s father picked him from the streets and treated him like one of his
children.
“The court particularly noted that the
attempts of the defense to pin the offence on the survivor’s brother was
unsuccessful.
“The attempt of the defense to also mislead
the court by stating that the evidence of the survivor’s brother was expunged
when in fact it was not. This was a complete misrepresentation of the records
of the court.
“Lastly, the evidence of the defendant was
wrought with lies and unreliable as he desperately sought to distance himself
from the alleged offence.
“I am satisfied that the prosecution has
proved the ingredient of defilement against the defendant.
“I hereby find the defendant guilty as
charged and he is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.”
The judge ordered that the convict should
have his name registered in the Sexual Offenders Register as maintained by
Lagos State.
The state counsel, Mrs. Olufunke Adegoke
and Ms. Abimbola Abolade, told the court that the convict committed the offence
on January 19, 2020, at about 3pm on Ofini Street, Ijaiye, Meiran in Lagos.
The prosecution submitted that the survivor
was sleeping in the afternoon when the convict entered the room, covered her
mouth with cloth, defiled her and immediately left the house to watch football
in a viewing centre.
According to the prosecutors, the grandma
of the survivor entered the room and saw her in a pool of blood and reported
the case to police.
NAN reports that the prosecution called
five witnesses during trial while the defendant testified as a sole witness for
the defence.
The offence is contrary to Section 137 of
the Criminal Law, 2015.
NAN