An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced a commercial motorcycle rider, popularly known as Okada, to death by hanging for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, Zainab Adeyemo.
The cyclist, Dare Ojo, was found guilty of raping and killing the deceased on July 17, 2020, along the Ese/Irun-Akoko Road in Akoko North-East Local Government Area of the state.
The accused allegedly committed these crimes while conveying the deceased on his commercial motorcycle to the market at Irun-Akoko.
During the proceedings, the mother of the deceased testified that she had asked Dare Ojo, the commercial motorcycle rider, to take the late Zainab Adeyemo from Ese-Akoko to the market at Irun-Akoko.
When the parents did not see their daughter at the market, they contacted her mother’s colleagues there, only to be told that the girl had not been seen.
They then contacted Dare Ojo, who claimed he had dropped her off at the market.
A search party was subsequently organised in the community and eventually found the naked body of Zainab Adeyemo.
Justice Yemi Fasanmi, who delivered the verdict, stated that the accused was guilty based on the findings of a pathologist from the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, who examined the remains of the deceased.
The pathologist established that there was a struggle and that the vaginal area of the deceased was forcefully penetrated.
Additionally, a police investigator informed the court that the accused led him and other officers to the scene of the incident, which was located in a dense bush area.
The presiding judge noted that although there was no eyewitness testimony, he invoked the Doctrine of Last Seen.
Dare Ojo was the last person known to have seen Zainab Adeyemo, and no one else was reported to have seen her after he took her away.
The defendant’s attorney, Kolawole Olusegun Oluiwa, appealed to the court for leniency.
When allowed to speak, Dare Ojo pleaded for mercy.
However, the court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for the charge of rape, punishable under section 31(1), (2), and (3) of the Ondo State Child’s Rights Law, 2007.
He was also sentenced to death by hanging for the charge of murder, punishable under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37, vol. 1, Laws of Ondo, 2006.
After the judgment, the defendant’s attorney expressed appreciation for the diligence of the court.
Speaking to journalists after the sitting, Afolabi Victory Bolanle, a Director in the State Ministry of Justice and Administrative Secretary of the Ondo State Agency Against Gender-Based Violence (OSA-GBV), stated that justice had been served for all parties involved.
She stated, “This is a case of murder and rape. The accused was charged with having sexual intercourse with a child, contrary to section 31(1), (2), and (3) of the Child’s Rights Law, 2007, as well as murder, contrary to section 316 and punishable under section 319 of the Criminal Code, chapter 27 of the state law, 2006. The case was initially filed in 2020.
“There were subsequent amendments to the charges. The trial eventually commenced in 2023 and continued until today, when the judgment was delivered. The prosecution called six witnesses, while the defence presented its case without calling any witnesses.
“At the end, the accused was found guilty on two counts: count one, rape; and count two, murder. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment for rape and death for murder.
“We thank God. It is a great relief that the case has concluded. Judgment has been served. Unfortunately, the victim is deceased, but today, justice was served for her.”
