Court Jails Driver For 21 Years For Sexually Assaulting 3-Year-Old Girl

Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a 50-year-old bus driver to 21 years’ imprisonment for attempting to sexually assault a three-year-old girl and inflicting significant psychological harm on her.

Justice Oshodi jailed the convict on two-count amended charge of attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration and indecent treatment of a child, contrary to Sections 262 and 135 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

The judge, in his judgment delivered on Wednesday, said the victim was only three years old when the offences were committed in January 2023.

He said, “No sentence imposed by this court can undo the harm inflicted on the victim,” adding that the prosecution had indicated that the victim continued to suffer the effects of the offence.

The court sentenced the convict to 14 years’ imprisonment on the first count and seven years on the second count, with the terms to run consecutively, making a total of 21 years.

The judge, however, ordered that the sentence should commence from January 7, 2023, when the convict was initially remanded in custody.

Justice Oshodi also ordered that the convict be registered as a sex offender pursuant to Sections 33 and 38 of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law of Lagos State 2021.

The convict had initially been charged with sexual assault of a minor and penetration by inserting his finger into the child’s vagina.

He had pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on March 20, 2024.

During the trial, the prosecution called six witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits, while the convict testified as the sole defence witness.

The prosecution’s first witness, Dr Oyetunde Olabode, a medical practitioner at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and consultant at the Mirabel Centre, told the court that he examined the child on January 9, 2023.

According to him, his examination revealed injuries to the child’s labia minora at the 8 to 10 o’clock and 2 to 4 o’clock positions. He also testified that the child’s hymen was pinkish and crescentic and concluded that there had been recent penetration of her genitalia.

The second prosecution witness, Sergeant Sunday Oladunjoye, told the court that the convict had admitted during investigation that he inserted his finger into the child’s vagina.

The child’s mother, Mrs Ifeoma Ugwegbu, testified that she had briefly left her daughter with the convict while she went to the backyard of the premises where her boss was sharing goat meat.

She said that when she returned, she saw her daughter sitting on the convict’s lap.

According to her, the child subsequently told her that the convict had put his finger in her “bombo”, which she explained referred to her genitalia.

She further testified that she examined the child’s underwear later that day and found blood on it, prompting her to report the matter to the police.

However, the now six-year-old witness gave brief evidence and told the court that she did not know the convict.

A development and behavioural practitioner, David Akinyemi, also testified about the ability of young children to recall traumatic events.

He told the court that children between two and five years could have difficulties with logical reasoning and might recall traumatic experiences in a short-lived, stream-like manner.

He also said the victim could have difficulty recalling the incident because almost three years had elapsed since it occurred.

In his defence, the convict admitted that the child’s mother brought her to the office on January 6, 2023.

He also admitted that he loved the child and that she stood between his legs at some point on the day in question, but denied inserting his finger into her vagina.

However, during the proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that the parties had entered into a plea agreement dated April 14, 2026 and filed on May 14, 2026.

Consequently, the convict was re-arraigned on an amended information charging him with the lesser offences of attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration and indecent treatment of a child.

He pleaded guilty to the amended charges.

In imposing sentence, Justice Oshodi noted that the original offence of sexual assault by penetration under Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State carried a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

He said, however, that the prosecution, exercising its discretion and with the consent of the victim’s family, entered into a plea agreement under which the convict faced lesser offences.

The judge said the agreement provided for 14 years’ imprisonment on count one and seven years on count two, to run consecutively.

Justice Oshodi rejected the defence request for a lesser sentence, stressing the seriousness of the sexual violation of a three-year-old child.