The Domestic and Sexual Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, presided over by Justice Abiola Soladoye, sentenced an Okada rider, Wale Isaiah, to life imprisonment for raping a 10-year-old girl.
Justice Soladoye said that the prosecution proved the necessary elements of defilement beyond a reasonable doubt and that the victim was consistent in her oral testimony, which she said was substantiated by other evidence before the court, and she found the defendant guilty as charged.
According to the evidence, there was hymen penetration, severe laceration, recurrent tear of the vagina, and vaginal injuries similar to those found in sexual assault.
She referred to the defendant as a sexual lunatic who preyed on the victim while she was on an errand.
Justice Soladoye sentenced the defendant to life in prison and ordered that his name be recorded into the Lagos State register of sexual offenders.
The judge warned the public that school-age children should not be spotted on the streets since doing so violates Lagos State’s Child Rights Act.
During the trial, five witnesses testified. In his defence, Wale and his father both testified.
Reporting by Wahab Akinlade, Editing by Omotola Oguneye and Saadatu Albashir