Justice Abiola Soladoye of a Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, Lagos has sentenced a middle-aged man, Adewale Ibitoye to life imprisonment for having sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old daughter.
The judge also sentenced Ibitoye’s friend, Moses Okrukpe to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating the 14-year-old survivor at Agbowa, Epe area of Lagos State.
Justice Soladoye found both defendants guilty as charged by the State Government. The state had arraigned them on a count charge, bordering on defilement by having unlawful intercourse with the survivor.
Their offence was contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. During trial, the prosecuting team, Mr .Olusola Soneye and Ms Abimbola Abolade called three witnesses while the defendants testified as sole witnesses in the case.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, the trial judge held that the prosecution had proved the charge of defilement against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Soladoye found the defendants guilty as charged and therefore sentenced them to life imprisonment. She condemned the barbaric act of the first defendant for having sex with his under-age daughter several times, before passing her to his friend for a pseudo marriage, over a bottle of gin. She ordered that the convicted person’s names be written in the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
The judge held that it is a fact that a 14-year-old girl (survivor) cannot give consent in a marriage and condemned the first defendant for engaging her in the uncultured act.
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She described the convicts as “beast in human form”, who should serve the remainder of their lives behind bars as they should not be seen among sane peoplke in the society.
“The survivor testified that her father had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions and that her father gave her hand in marriage to the second convict after he visited their house and gave her father, a bottle of gin.
“The survivor in her evidence said that the second defendant had sexual intercourse with her which led to pregnancy.
“The first defendant in his testimony confirmed that he collected a bottle of gin from his friend as wedding rites. The testimony of the survivor was vivid and unshaken.
“During cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, a pastor, testified that the survivor lost the two-month-old baby due to lack of care and malnutrition. Also, the testimony of the third prosecution witness, a police investigative officer (IPO) confirmed to the court that the survivor was 14 years when she started living with the second defendant as his wife. He added that he (the second defendant) registered her in a local hospital in Ijebu Ode while she was pregnant with the baby.
“The first convict who had canal knowledge of his own daughter is everything a father should not be. This is taboo and incest. He gave his underage daughter out in marriage to his friend for a bottle of gin.
“This is highly irresponsible of him as responsible fathers are out there giving the best of education to their children. The most pathetic is that the survivor was made to go through torture by making her go through pregnancy at such early age.
“This act is very embarrassing, shameful, and animalistic. A father having sexual intercourse with her daughter and passing her to his friend at age of 14 over a bottle of gin is unthinkable,” the court held.
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