Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, on Wednesday, sentenced a bricklayer – Mr. Gabriel Awaye – to two life sentences for defiling a 13-year-old girl in his room.
The Lagos State government arraigned the convict for defiling the girl in 2021.
The State counsel, Ms. Abimbola Abolade, told the court that Awaye committed the offence in his residence at Agbawaye Street, Command, Agbado Oke-Odo area of Lagos on June 2, 2021.
The prosecutor presented three witnesses during the trial while the convict testified as the sole witness.
The offence, according to her, contravened Sections 127 and 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015
In her judgment, Justice Soladoye held that the prosecution proved the ingredients of defilement and sexual assault against the convict.
She said the defendant by his audacious sexual recklessness was not fit to be in the community of civilised people and should be locked away for life.
According to the judge, the survivor was lucid and unambiguous while giving her evidence before the court.
She said the survivor’s testimony was also corroborated by other prosecution witnesses.
The judge said: “The prosecution witness one (survivor) testified before this court that she was at her grandmother’s place when her friend, Rofiat told her that her sister sent for her.
“The witness said when she got to the place, she did not meet her sister but saw the defendant who pushed her on the mat and sodomised her.
“The evidence of the defendant is laced with lies as he tried to detach himself from the offence by saying the mother of the survivor tried to have a sexual relationship with him.
“To the mind of this court, the prosecution witnesses were truthful in their testimonies and their pieces of evidence were corroborated.”
“Upon careful evidence adduced before the court, the court found Awaye guilty of the two-count charge.
“The survivor identified the defendant as the man who defiled her while she was 13 years old.
“The defendant is hereby found guilty and is sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the two-count charges, and he should have his name entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.”