Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja has jailed a trader, Abdullahi Sale, for the rest of his life for defiling and kidnapping his 13-year-old neighbour, whose name has been withheld.
Justice Oshodi handed down the verdict after finding Sale guilty of a two-count charge of defilement and abduction brought against him by the state government.
The prosecution had informed the judge that the offences violated sections 137 and 268 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
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The convict, who resided in a "face-me-I-face-you" house at 18 Agunbiade Street, Kirikiri Town, Apapa, was accused of convincing the JSS1 student to enter his room, defiling her and detaining her in his apartment for 11 days.
The survivor's mother, Helen Efedede, testified that her daughter went missing after they returned from church and that during this time, Sale reportedly came to inquire about the girl multiple times, pretending to be concerned, while keeping her confined in his room within the same compound.
She claimed that a naval officer eventually found the girl sitting alone on the street and took her to the police station, after which the girl led officers to Sale's room, revealing that he had imprisoned her, fed her with instant noodles, supplied containers for urination and defecation.
The survivor, who was 14 years old when she testified in November 2022, stated that she had never entered Sale's room before the incident. She described how she entered and then found herself locked inside a dark room for about a week.
A nurse and midwife, Nwoke Okoi Oluchi, who testified as the third Prosecution Witness, presented a medical report from the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) Centre in Yaba.
The report showed significant vaginal discharge, bruising, healed lacerations, and an intact hymen. It concluded that these findings were consistent with forced vaginal penetration, noting that the girl had been sexually assaulted twice while confined in Sale's room.
The convict, who testified on his own behalf, denied the allegations, claiming that the girl approached him asking for N15,000 to obtain an abortion, initially saying it was for a friend, before allegedly admitting she was pregnant for a barber named Samuel.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi dismissed the convict's testimony as "wholly incredible," describing it as implausible, internally contradictory, and inconsistent with proven facts.
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The judge found that the prosecution proved the girl was 13 at the time, making her a child under the Child Rights Law.
He also stated she was detained in the defendant's room for 11 days, and that a child cannot legally consent to such detention for sexual reasons.
The court held, "The circumstances, considered together with the medical evidence of vaginal penetration, permit only one rational conclusion: the defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix during her confinement."
Justice Oshodi further described the crimes as "grievous," emphasising that Sale had betrayed his neighbour's trust and worsened the family's distress by pretending to help search for the girl while holding her in his room and sexually abusing her.
He stated that section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State prescribes life imprisonment for child defilement, reflecting the legislature's intent to treat such crimes with utmost severity.
The judge held, "Abdullahi Sale, on count one, the offence of defilement contrary to section 137 of the Criminal Law, I sentence you to life imprisonment. On count two, the offence of abduction contrary to section 268 of the same law, I sentence you to seven years' imprisonment.
"The sentence on count two shall run from the date of your remand in custody on 17 September 2021. Both sentences shall run concurrently, which means you shall serve life imprisonment.
"As the prosecution urged me during sentencing in accordance with sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021, I order that your name be entered into the Sex Offenders Register," Justice Oshodi held.
