Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court delivered a life imprisonment sentence to Olawale Olarewaju, a security guard, for engaging in sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl. The judge also criticized the Ikoyi Custodial Centre for the deficiencies and delays in bringing the defendant to court after eight years in prison custody.
Justice Oshodi emphasized that the case had been dismissed for lack of diligent prosecution by Justice Sybil Nwaka (retd) due to the custodial centre’s failure to produce the defendant for arraignment, despite the issuance of a reproduction warrant between 2016 and 2019.
“The defendant was in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre and remained there for about eight years from the day of his remand until he was produced before me on January 3, 2023, for arraignment,” stated Justice Oshodi, pointing out significant flaws in the Nigeria Correctional Service’s operation.
The judge expressed dismay at the prolonged period the defendant spent awaiting trial, squarely attributing it to the correctional centre’s shortcomings.
In delivering the verdict, Justice Oshodi affirmed that the prosecution successfully established the elements of defilement against the defendant based on charge number LD/2359C/2016. The survivor, now 18 years old, testified that the incident occurred when she was 13, and Olarewaju, employed as a security guard at a construction site, forcibly assaulted her while she fetched water.
Detailing the survivor’s account, Justice Oshodi said, “The defendant ‘tore my clothe, and forcefully had sex with me, and I started having pains in my vagina.’” The survivor reported the incident to her parents, leading to the father filing a case with the police and seeking medical examination at Mirabel Medical Centre.
The judge noted that the survivor’s testimony was supported by her father’s account, making it vivid and unwavering. Justice Oshodi discredited Olarewaju’s inconsistent statements during cross-examination, ultimately deeming his defense unreliable.
Convicting him of the charge, the judge sentenced Olarewaju to life imprisonment and directed that his name be entered into the Sexual Offences Register maintained by the Lagos State Government. The prosecution called two witnesses during the trial, while the defendant testified as the sole witness. The offense was found to contravene Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
