A High Court in Nasarawa State has convicted a lecturer of the Federal University of Lafia (FULAFIA), Fred Ayokhai, for physically assaulting a female student of the institution, Miss Blessing Mathias.
Ayokhai reportedly committed the offence in October last year.
The convict, Ayokhai, who works at the History and International Relations Department of the institution, was caught on camera with his children assaulting and stripping the 20-year-old Blessing Mathias.
In the video that surfaced on social media, Ayokhai was seen shredding the girl’s singlet with scissors. She was later flogged and abandoned naked in the bush.
Subsequently, the police arrested the lecturer and his daughter, Emmanuella, who allegedly orchestrated the attack on Blessing for “snatching” her boyfriend.
Ayokhai was charged with criminal conspiracy, housebreaking, abduction and voluntarily causing grievous hurt, without provocation and assault.
Meanwhile, Emmanuella, Bob-Praise, and Saint-Dan, all children of Ayokhai, were joined in the case as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants.
Although the defendants had pleaded not guilty on arraignment, their counsel, A.U Idris, approached the court with an offer for an out-of-court settlement.
The presiding judge, Solomon Ayenajeh, while delivering his judgment on Thursday, convicted the first defendant and sentenced him to six months in jail for criminal conspiracy and another six months for assault.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
Justice Ayenajeh noted that the six months period in which Ayokhai has been in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) will be reckoned with.
The judge, while ruling on the offences of the children, said they would spend six months on probation considering their ages.
He added that they would be tasked with keeping the premises of the Nasarawa State High Court clean during the period of their sentence.
Justice Ayenajeh also directed the third defendant, Bob-Praise, to shave his dreadlocks.
In his allocution, Ayokhai appreciated the judge and parties in the matter for the consideration and the leniency accorded him.
The lecturer added that he has taken steps to compensate the victim as part of the plea bargain arrangement.