One Jailed For Life, 2 Others Remanded For Defiling Minors

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday remanded a 27-year-old man, Owolabi Olabisi, at a correctional centre for allegedly sexually assaulting his neighbour’s eight-year-old girl.

Olabisi, who earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual assault by penetration, was accused of committing the offence on January 18, 2023, at Ojuelegba, Surulere, Lagos State.

He was said to have sexually assaulted his victim by penetrating her vagina with a finger, contravening the Criminal Laws of Lagos State (2015).

Justice Abiola Soladoye remanded Olabisi in the correctional facility pending the hearing of his bail application and adjourned the case to February 20 for the commencement of trial.

The punishment for sexual assault by penetration in Lagos State is life imprisonment.

In another case, an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sentenced security guard Olawale Olarewaju to life imprisonment for having sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl.

Justice Rahman Oshodi criticized lapses and delays in justice on the part of the Ikoyi Custodial Centre for failing to produce the defendant, who had been in prison custody for eight years, before the court.

Oshodi stated that the case had been struck out previously due to a lack of diligent prosecution, but he finally convicted Olarewaju for defilement.

The survivor, now 18 years old, testified that the defendant, a security guard at a construction site, forcefully had sex with her when she went to fetch water at the site. The survivor’s testimony was supported by her father’s account.

The judge deemed the defendant’s denial unreliable, considering his contradictory statements during cross-examination. Oshodi sentenced Olarewaju to life imprisonment and ordered his name to be entered into the Sexual Offences Register maintained by the Lagos State Government.

Additionally, an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court ordered the remand of Musa Usman at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly defiling his neighbour’s 10-year-old daughter.

The Chief Magistrate, Ejiro Kubeinje, adjourned the case until February 6 pending the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Usman, accused of defilement, allegedly committed the offence in December 2023 at his residence. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment under Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

(NAN)