Tag: life imprisonment

Court sentences ex-civil defence officer to life imprisonment

An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced one Olukayode Dayo, a former officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to life imprisonment over an offence of rape.

The 39- year- old convict was arraigned before Justice Lekan Olatawura on May 13, 2022 on one count charge bordering on rape.

The charge reads that Olukayode Dayo on Dec. 25, 2021 at Ado-Ekiti within the jurisdiction of Ado-Ekiti court did rape a 13 years old girl names withheld.

According to the charge, the offence is contrary to section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

In his statement to the Police, the victim said, ” I was living with my grandmother, I was sent home to go and bring banana and kolanut, on my way home, one man called Olukay (the defendant) crossed me with his motorcycle, he dropped the banana and kolanut on my head, he carried me to a fenced uncompleted building.

”I was shouting but he did not listen to me, he removed my pant and started having sex with me, a passerby who heard my voice entered the compound, he took to his heels on citing the man, the man chased him but he was unable to catch him, he came back and take me to my grandmother, he explained what happened to her. ” she concluded.

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare called six witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statement, photographs of the victim and medical report as exhibits.

The defendant, who spoke in his own defence through his counsel, Oluwaseun Oyebanji, denied committing the offence but pleaded to the court to temper justice with mercy and he called no witness.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Lekan Olatawura said, in this event, the victim consistently, unequivocally and unshaking stated that the defendant who was well known to her was the person who raped her.

“In all, I find proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the 13- year-old girl on Dec. 25, 2021 and consequent thereupon, I find him guilty as charg.

”Consequent upon the foregoing, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge ruled.

July 9, 2024
Man bags life imprisonment for defiling neighbour’s daughter

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced a man, Ugochukwu Onuoha, to life imprisonment for defiling a five-year-old minor, his neighbour’s daughter.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the prosecution had established beyond reasonable doubt, the charge of defilement against Onuoha.

Oshodi said the prosecutrix (survivor) was a child at the time of the incident.

He said the prosecutrix’s mother’s evidence that Onuoha apologised and promised not to do it again was an admission which corroborated the
prosecutrix’s evidence.

According to him: “There is abundant evidence that the defendant committed the crime.

“I believed the prosecutrix when she testified before me as she was resolute that it was the defendant that penetrated her vagina with his penis.

“She maintained this during cross-examination and gave further details to embellish her evidence in chief.

“The evidence shows that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim, who, to his knowledge, was a child.”

The judge, thereafter, found Onuoha guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court further held that the medical evidence showed short and long-term impacts on the victim as the sexual intercourse he had with the survivor could cause structural damage to the vagina, the uterus, and other surrounding organs.

Oshodi said: “According to the medical evidence, by the age of the victim, the sexual intercourse you had with her could cause vagina bleeding and may lead to death.

“The psychology of the victim was affected and may require years of counselling.

“You offered no words of consolation for the victim and her family and I do not know at this time what the total ramifications will be for the survivor.

“The extent of damage you have done to the survivor for your sexual gratification is mind-boggling and you did not show any sign of remorse.”

The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment and also ordered that his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.

The prosecutor, Mr Adedipupo Adewetan, had told the court that the convict committed the offence on June 20, 2021 on Achakpo St., Olodi Apapa, Lagos.

According to the prosecution, the offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.

March 26, 2024
Sarkin Fulani, 2 others sentenced to life imprisonment in Kwara

A High Court sitting in Ilorin has sentenced a traditional ruler and two others to life imprisonment for conspiracy and kidnapping.

Those convicted are the Sarkin Fulani of Kwara, Usman Adamu, his brother, and one Gidaddo Idris.

They were tried and convicted of kidnapping one Abubakar Ahmad sometime in 2022.

The convicts were said to have collected a ransom of N1 million before releasing their victim, who had spent 20 days in captivity.

Kwara state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Idowu Ayoola, brought the then defendants before the court for alleged conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping itself.

In her judgment, Justice Adenike Akinpelu, held that evidence adduced by the prosecution proved that all three accused persons connived to commit the crime.

According to her, argument about whether or not they were physically present at the scene of the crime is immaterial.

The Judge said that the convicts “supposedly arrested their victim claiming that he was a kidnap suspect to extort money from him.

“I am not persuaded by the submissions of counsel to the defendants to dismiss the two-count charge against them based on the fact that they were not at the scene of the incident.”

Akinpelu lamented that, “it is saddening and disturbing that community leaders charged with the welfare of their subjects could because of the love of money, breach the security of the same subjects.

“They are hereby found guilty as charged and are so convicted.” she ordered.

After listening to the convicts’ allocutus, the judge said: “By Section 15 of the state Anti Kidnapping Law, the court cannot exercise any discretion of leniency.

“So, you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentence is to run concurrently,” she ruled.

The judge also ordered the convict to pay N600,000 to the victim of the abduction as damages.

November 30, 2023
Life imprisonment for two men convicted of defiling 13-Year-old girl

In a significant ruling on Wednesday, the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, under the jurisdiction of Justice Rahman Oshodi, sentenced Alex Michael and Yakubu Isiaka to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

The offenders will serve their sentences at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre in Lagos State.

Justice Oshodi, after carefully considering the evidence presented by the prosecution, concluded that Michael, a cobbler, and Isiaka, a cleric, were guilty of the crime of defilement beyond any reasonable doubt.

The convicts failed to provide any statements or evidence to challenge the accusations levelled against them.

“The only statement before the court is the confession by Michael, corroborated by the Investigating Police Officer, who testified that the convict admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim on three occasions.

“Furthermore, I believe that Michael had the opportunity to commit the crime as he was a neighbor of the victim,” Justice Oshodi said.

The judge noted that both defendants confessed to the police at Owutu Police Division in Ikorodu that they had engaged in sexual acts with the underage girl.

Prosecutor Babajide Boye earlier informed the court that the offenses were committed between October and November 2019 in Ikorodu, which violated the Criminal Laws of Lagos State (2015).

According to Boye, Michael admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim three times, justifying his actions by claiming that the girl flirted with him and shared pornographic material involving the victim on his mobile phone.

On the other hand, Isiaka was found to have had sexual intercourse with the girl twice, offering her N500 on the first occasion and N200 on the second.

The court subsequently sentenced the duo to life imprisonment for the two-count charge of defilement.

Justice Oshodi also directed that the names of the convicts be registered in the sex offenders register maintained by the Lagos State government.

June 21, 2023
Lagos based teacher bags life imprisonment for defiling 9-year-old girl

A Lagos based teacher, Peter Jacob has been sentenced to life imprisonment by An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court for defiling a 9-year-old pupil with special needs.

Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the prosecution had efficiently proved the charge of defilement against the defendant.

The judge noted that the evidence presented by the respective prosecution witnesses were cogent, compelling and believable

According to the judge the evidence of the defendant and the three defence witnesses (staff of the school where the defendant worked) were self-serving.

She said: “The defendant was observed to be unrepentant and unremorseful.

“The prosecution witness 1 (survivor) properly identified the defendant when she gave her evidence and her evidence was properly corroborated by the other three witnesses.

“The prosecution has successfully established the ingredients of the offence against the defendant.

“The defendant is Godless, brutally wicked, lustful and an act unbecoming of a teacher.

“I find him guilty of the charge and he is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.”

Soladoye said the convict should have his name registered in the sexual offence register as maintained by the Lagos State government.

The prosecution team, Mr Olusola Soneye, Mrs Olufunke Adegoke and Abimbola Abolade presented four witnesses and eight exhibits were also tendered during the proceedings while the defence called four witnesses.

The prosecution told the court that the convict committed the offence sometime in 2019 at Thescol College, CMD Road, Magodo, in Ikeja.

They submitted that the survivor, who suffered from dyslexia, was in the primary school section of the school which also houses the secondary school where Jacob worked.

The offence violated Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

March 30, 2023
Nigerian man, Ekene Dumkele bags life sentence for South African artiste’s murder

A 37-year-old Nigerian national, Onyeghani Ekene Dumkele, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Limpopo artist, Shaun-Doughlas Chabalala in South Africa.

The Sunnyside police spokesperson, Captain Daniel Mavimbela, said 23-year-old Chabalala was robbed inside the seventh-floor residential unit, forcefully thrown out of the window and died at the scene.

Mavimbela said, “Shortly after he was convicted, a 37-year-old foreign national, who murdered a multitalented up-and-coming Limpopo artist, Shaun-Douglas Chabalala, 23, was handed a life sentence in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday afternoon.”

Shaun-Doughlas Chabalala

“Additionally, a 15-year jail term was imposed on Onyeghani Ekene Dumkele for aggravated robbery, plus a 12-month suspended sentence, on condition that he is deported to his native country after he completes his concurrent sentence for murder and aggravated robbery.”

TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) gathered that Chabalala and his friend, Given Mzamane, were lured to the infamous Tambotie block of flats in Sunnyside, east of Pretoria, in May 2018, through a fake advertisement of a luxury camera. The two arrived at the populated block of flats, with the intention of purchasing the advertised camera.

Mavimbela said, “They carried a cash amount of R14 000 on them, only to be led into an ambush inside an apartment where Dumkele lived on the seventh floor. Upon entering the apartment, the victims were attacked by a group of men.”

Mzamane testified that he forced his way out of the door and manage to escape. However, it was not before he had witnessed two men, who had participated in the robbery and attack on himself and Chabalala, lift Chabalala and threw him out of the window from the same apartment.”

Shaun-Doughlas Chabalala

The artist succumbed to injuries from the attack and the fall. He was declared dead at the scene.

“Dumkele was arrested almost 15 months after the murder, by Sunnyside police detective, Captain Simon Motolla, who had decided to abandon a wedding celebration that he had attended in Mpumalanga after he was tipped-off on the whereabouts of the accused,” said Mavimbela.

Dumkele was sniffed out from the ceiling inside a house in Pretoria West by a police dog, following the enlistment of the services of a K-9 Unit.”

During his arrest, Dumkele blamed the murder on his missing co-accused and fellow countryman, Obienna Ofoegbuliwe, who has since absconded after he was granted bail of R3 000.

“That testimony was rejected by the court since he knew that, among others, the police had been searching for him, had not disclosed the identity of the killer prior to his arrest and was easily pointed out by Mzamane during the identification parade,” said Mavimbela.

Sunnyside police station commander, Brigadier Matshidiso Kgoadi has welcomed the stiff sentence.

Kgoadi saluted the dedicated team of investigators and the prosecutor who worked tirelessly to secure Dumkele’s conviction.

March 14, 2023
Court sentences man to life imprisonment for defiling JSS 3 student

An Ado-Ekiti High Court on Tuesday sentenced a 30-year-old man, Shola Oguntuase to life imprisonment for defiling a 14-year-old JSS 3 student.

The convict, was arraigned and tried before Justice Adekunle Adeyeye on one-count charge of defilement.

Delivering judgment, Justice Adeyeye, held that the prosecution proved its the against the convict beyond all reasonable doubts, hence, his conviction to life imprisonment.

“From the entire circumstances, I have no doubt that the prosecution established beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the victim.

“The defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge ruled.

Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, Mr Marcus Olowoyo told the court that Oguntuase defiled the minor on July 7, 2020 at Ire- Ekiti in Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti.

Olowoyo, in proving his case, presented the victim’s statement to the police before court as evidence.

The prosecutor further called four witnesses and tendered medical report as exhibits before courts to prove her case of rape.

However, the defence counsel Mr Rotimi Adabembe called no witness

June 14, 2022
Lesson teacher impregnates 14-year-old, gets life imprisonment

A lesson teacher, Joseph Ibanga, has been handed life imprisonment for defilement and impregnating a 14-year-old girl who was his student.

Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court made the pronouncement on Monday.

The judge said the offence is punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which stipulates life imprisonment for offenders found guilty.

ALSO READ: LASG begins publication of details of convicted sex offenders

The prosecution presented three witnesses at the trial, while the defendant had no witness and spoke in his own defence.

The prosecution team made up of Olusola Soneye, Olufunke Adegoke, and Abimbola Abolade, told the court that the defendant committed the offence between January and March 2019 at No.12, Iresi Street, Orile-Agege, Lagos.

They all submitted that the defendant was a lesson teacher, who taught the survivor at home because she was not in school “for a long time due to slow learning.”

The prosecution said the defendant raped the minor where she lived with her aunt whenever he went to teach her.

She subsequently became pregnant and had a baby.

Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Soladoye said the prosecution proved the charge of defilement against the convict.

She said, “The survivor was a minor and her consent is immaterial. The evidence before the court showed that the defendant had sex with the victim in her home and in the defendant’s own matrimonial home.

“She subsequently became pregnant and had a baby.

“The medical report corroborated the evidence against the defendant. The defendant is responsible for the act and there is evidence before the court to prove same.

“The survivor identified the defendant as her lesson teacher and the person who had sexual intercourse with her without her consent.

“The defendant is very ungrateful and wicked, ravished the student with impunity and taught her nonsense. Ibanga has brought ridicule to the teaching profession and this punishment will serve as a lesson to him and warning to others.

“The defendant is hereby found guilty as charged based on the avalanche of evidence against him, and he is sentenced to life imprisonment.”

In addition, the judge ordered that the convict should have his name entered into the register of sexual offenders of Lagos State.

June 7, 2022
Home teacher bags life imprisonment for impregnating 14-year-old girl

An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Monday sentenced a `lesson teacher,’ Joseph Ibanga, to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating a 14-year-old girl.

Justice Abiola Soladoye, in her judgment, said that the prosecution had proved the charge of defilement against the convict.

Soladoye said: “The survivor was a minor and her consent is immaterial. The evidence before the court showed that the defendant had sex with her in her home and in his own matrimonial home. She subsequently became pregnant and had a baby.

“The medical report corroborated the evidence of the victim. The defendant is responsible for the act and there is evidence before the court to prove same.

“The survivor identified the defendant as her lesson teacher and the person who had forced sexual intercourse with her.

“The defendant is very ungrateful and wicked. He ravished the student with impunity and taught her nonsense. He has brought ridicule to the teaching profession and this punishment will serve as a lesson to him.

“The defendant is hereby found guilty as charged, based on the avalanche of evidence against him, and he is sentenced to life imprisonment.”

The judge ordered that the convict should have his name entered into the register of sexual offenders of Lagos State.

The prosecution presented three witnesses at the trial, while the defendant has no witness, he gave his sole defence.

According to the prosecution team, Mr Olusola Soneye, Mrs Olufunke Adegoke and Ms Abimbola Abolade, the defendant committed the offence between January and March 2019 at No.12, Iresi St. Orile-Agege, in Lagos.

They submitted that the defendant was a lesson teacher, who taught the survivor at home, because she was not in school for a long time, due to slow learning.

They said that the defendant had sex with her in her home, where she lived with her aunt, and whenever he came to teach her and subsequently became pregnant and had a baby.

The offence violated Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which stipulates life imprisonment for offenders.

NAN

June 6, 2022
Pastor Oliseh bags life imprisonment for defiling friend’s twin daughters
- An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Wednesday sentenced a 54-year-old pastor, Michael Oliseh, to life imprisonment for defiling his friend’s 12-year-old twin daughters.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abiola Soladoye, described Oliseh, the assistant Pastor of the Anointed Chosen Vessel Ministry in Okota, Lagos, as a “serial rapist” who took turns defiling his friend’s daughters.

She held that the prosecution had convincingly proved the charges of defilement against Oliseh beyond any reasonable doubt.

The judge sentenced Oliseh to life imprisonment on the two-count charge bordering on defilement.

She said, “The testimony of the defendant portrayed him as a serial rapist who took turns to defile the survivors.

“What a disloyal and untrustworthy pastor, who shamelessly and audaciously had sexual intercourse with his friend’s children who were entrusted in his care.

“His conduct is unbecoming of a pastor.

“Having been found guilty as charged with the two offences, the defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.’’

She said that the sentences should run concurrently, adding that should have his name entered in the Sex Offenders Register of the Lagos State Government.

Soladoye also berated the parents of the survivors for lack of discipline by sending the survivors to stay with the convict.

“Parents of the survivors lack discipline and ought not to have sent their children to go stay in Oliseh’s house.

“Children are not to be entrusted with rowdy adults. They should be kept in the hands of responsible adults who have their goodwill at heart.

“The need for responsible parenting cannot be overemphasized,” the judge said.

Five witnesses testified at the trial and five exhibits were tendered.

According to the prosecution counsel, Mrs Olufunke Adegoke, Oliseh committed the crimes sometimes in November 2017 in Ago, near Okota, a suburb of Lagos.

Adegoke said that the defendant defiled the survivors after their father had entrusted them in his care and travelled to the village for a burial.

She said that Oliseh then threatened the survivors that their father would become jobless if they told anyone about the sexual encounter.

She also submitted that Oliseh was caught by one of the neighbours after he had chased one of the survivors in the compound and dragged her with her pant.

The prosecution said the offences violated Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

NAN
May 4, 2022