Court sentences man to life imprisonment for raping neighbour’s 10-year-old daughter

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

A Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja has sentenced a man, Taiye Agboola to life imprisonment for raping his neighbour’s 10-year-old daughter.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, on Monday, convicted Agboola, a Caterpillar worker of defilement after he found that the prosecution proved the burden of defilement of a child by penetration beyond reasonable doubt.

Oshodi held that the convict’s confession was consistent with the medical report, the testimony of the investigating police officer, and the testimony of the victim’s mother.

He said that the court learned that the victim informed the medical examiner that the convict penetrated her vagina with his finger after dragging her to a room.

The judge said the doctor’s evidence recounted the victim’s story of how the convict, Agboola, dragged her into his brother’s room, removed her pants, and inserted his finger into her vagina.

Oshodi also said the Mirabel Centre’s report stated that upon examination of the victim’s vagina, it was found that her hymen was reddened, there was a laceration and the injury around her vaginal area was reddish.

He told the court that the convict committed the offence on August 30, 2015, at 7, Ijaiye Ojokoro, at 3:00 pm.

Further, Oshodi said the convict told the court that on the date of the incident, he was sleeping in his elder brother’s room (identified as Tope Agboola) when the victim entered the room.

Agboola said, “I pulled her, rubbed her body and dipped one of my right fingers in her private part.”

The judge held that the convict’s confessional statement and medical examiner’s statement were in line with the evidence of the investigating police officer (IPO).

The IPO told the court that Agboola confessed and admitted to penetrating the victim’s vagina with his finger.

Oshodi held that “There cannot be a better eye witness than the account of Agboola, the convict’s confession, the IPO, and the medical report corroborates the victim’s evidence.

The judge said he accepted the confession of Agboola that he put his finger in the victim’s vagina and rubbed her body.

Oshodi noted that the prosecution had satisfied the ingredients of proving the defilement of a child by penetration beyond reasonable doubt and thus convicted Agboola.

In his allocution, the defence counsel asked the court to be merciful and consider that the convict is a first-time offender and has no previous criminal record.

The prosecution counsel, however, urged the court to sentence the convict according to the requirements of the law for the offence.

The prosecutor also asked the court to enter Agboola’s name into the sexual offenders register of Lagos state.

Delivering his judgment, Oshodi told the convict that he being an adult sexually penetrated a 10-year-old girl by fingering her vagina in her parents’ house which is supposed to be a safe place has caused the victim physical and psychological harm and trauma.

“Harm (which) will affect the growth of the victim,” the judge said.

He sentenced him to life imprisonment and ordered that he be returned to the Ikoyi Custodial Centre where he is currently being held.

The Lagos state government convict arraigned Agboola on a count of defilement of a child, to which he pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution called four witnesses who testified against the convict in the trial, while the convict testified for himself and called one witness, his friend Saheed.

In Saheed’s testimony, he claimed that Agboola went to work on August 29, 2015 (the day before the incident) and later informed him that he was going home to get some of his clothes but did not see Agboola again until his appearance in court to testify.

Saheed told the court that he could not speak of the events of August 30, 2015, and whatever action Agboola took on that day as he saw him last on August 29, 2015.