A 53-year-old rubber trader named Kenneth Mba was sentenced to a life term in jail on Monday by an Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court for defiling his friend’s 12-year-old daughter.
In his ruling, Judge Rahman Oshodi stated that the prosecution had established the convict’s defilement charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Having found Mr Mba guilty of the crime of defiling a minor, the court rendered the verdict.
Mr Oshodi stated that the survivor’s testimony supported the convict’s confessional statement, which claimed that he had three times defiled her in the room and given her N200 after every experience.
But he claimed his use of statement to refute the accusation was rejected.
The convict, according to Mr Oshodi, was a pathological liar whose testimony was an afterthought since it lacked credibility.
Having been friends for more than 20 years, he said the felon had betrayed the survivor’s father’s confidence.
The judge determined that the survivor’s evidence was clear-cut, unambiguous, and concise. Additionally, the judge determined that the confessional statement made sense in light of the facts presented to the court.
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“I must accept that his confessional statement is true, as it is consistent, unequivocal and corroborated by the prosecutor’s evidence.
“The medical report also corroborated the prosecution witness evidence,” he said.
Mr Oshodi, thereafter, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He also ordered that the convict’s name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
“You have been convicted of defilement and the offence is grave.
“You, at the age of 51, had sex with your friend’s daughter, whom you knew was 12 years old.
“Despite the overwhelming evidence before the court, you came to lie in your oral evidence.”
Mr Oshodi held that the charge against him carried a mandatory sentence.
“I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment.
“You shall serve your term in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, where you are currently being held,” he said.
The convict testified as a lone witness, whereas Inumidun Solaarin, the state attorney, called three witnesses.
According to Ms Solaarin, the offence was perpetrated by the convict on Ogunjimi Street, Iwaya, Yaba Lagos, at some point in April 2021.
She claims that the offense violates Lagos State’s 2015 Criminal Laws, Section 137.
