LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- An Akure High Court has sentenced a 37-year-old farmer, Joseph Agbomu, to life imprisonment for defiling his neighbour’s six-year-old daughter.
The accused was arrested by the State Police command after committing the act in Ijebu-Owo, Owo Local Government Area of the state.
He was later charged to court in March 2019, and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor said the offence committed contravened Sections 375, 378 of the Ondo State Criminal Code, 2006.
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In his judgment, Justice Yemi Fasanmi held that the prosecution proved the case of rape against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court also held that the testimony of the victim was convincing and truthful.
The judge said the convict, in his extra-judicial statement obtained on 12 December, 2019, confessed to the commission of the crime, that he had carnal knowledge of the victim in his room without using a condom after taking a herbal alcoholic drink.
Justice Fasanmi held that the convict inflicted physical, emotional, and psychological trauma on the survivor, who saw a fatherly figure in him, as his father’s kinsman and friend.
According to the court, the victim’s testimony is corroborated by the convict’s confessional statement that he had unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
“The defendant (Agbomu) is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for the defilement of a child to serve as a deterrent to others who might engage in such act,” the court ruled.
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The court held that “The survivor in this case narrated before this court that the convict who was his father’s neighbour, sent her on an errand to buy a pack of Indomie.
“The survivor said the convict cooked the Indomie and gave her part of it. And shortly after eating, he pushed her to his bed and inserted his penis into her vaginal.”
The Judge said Agbomu confessed to having had carnal knowledge of the survivor in his room, without using a condom after taking an herbal alcoholic drink.
According to the court, the child’s testimony was copiously corroborated by the convict’s confessional statement that he (Agbomu)had unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
The evidence of the survivor, he noted, corroborated the evidence of the nominal complainant, who is the father of the survivor.
Justice Fasanmi, in his verdict, convicted Agbomu and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The court said, “The convict (Agbomu) is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for the defilement of a child, to serve as a deterrent to others, who might engage in such act.”