The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, on Monday, sentenced a 56-year-old driver, Folarin Raufu, to life imprisonment for defiling his employer’s five-year-old granddaughter.
Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the prosecution successfully proved all the ingredients of defilement against Mr Raufu.Ms Soladoye said the conduct of the convict was nasty.
According to the judge, the minor brilliantly presented the sequence of how the convict defiled her.
“The survivor recognised the defendant as Mr Folarin, who had sexual intercourse with her both in the living room and inside her grandfather’s jeep.
“The grandfather, who was Prosecution Witness Two (PW2), in his testimony, said that his granddaughter whispered in his ears that the defendant defiled her, which necessitated his arrest,” Ms Soladoye said.
She described the convict as a liar who tried to avoid the charge by claiming that he did not understand the English Language but still responded appropriately when the court registrar read the charge in the English Language.
“The defendant denied having sexual intercourse with the survivor but told the court that he only planted kisses on her cheeks and cuddled her.
“Under cross-examination, he denied making any statement at Ojodu Police Station, but the same statement was tendered and admitted in evidence as Exhibit B.“He lied to the court,” she said.
The judge held that evidence of the survivor was corroborated by a medical report from Mirabel Medical Centre and testimonies of two other prosecution witnesses.
“The court finds you, Folarin Raufu, guilty of the offence and hereby sentences you to life imprisonment.
“The convict should have his name registered in the sexual offences register as maintained by Lagos State,” the judge ruled.
Ms Soladoye called on parents and guardians to desist from entrusting their children and wards to the care of “good-for-nothing staff” to avoid sexual assault and defilement.
Lagos State counsel, Abimbola Abolade, presented four witnesses during the trial and tendered two documents in evidence, while the defendant testified as the sole defence witness.
