Justice Rahman Oshodi, of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday, 29th October, 2024, sentenced a 41-year-old car wash operator Ezekiel Udoh to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating his neighbour’s 12-year-old granddaughter.
His name will be registered in the Sexual Offenders Register as maintained by Lagos State.
The judge in his judgment held that the prosecution discharged its burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt that Udoh committed the offence.
Oshodi said: “A child was forced to bear a child, forever altering the course of her life."
“You deliberately lured this young girl to your room under the pretence of running errands and exploited her vulnerability and proximity."
“As a neighbour, most disturbingly, you engaged in sexual intercourse with her twice, showing a calculated and persistent pattern of abuse.”
According to Oshodi, the convict’s initial attempts to minimise his actions by suggesting the survivor approached him for money, only to later admit to “bargaining for fun” with a child, demonstrated a troubling lack of appreciation for the gravity of his crime.
He said: "The law is clear that a child cannot consent to sexual activity."
During the trial, the state prosecution counsel, Mr. Babajide Boye, called three witnesses: the survivor, her grandmother, and a social worker, while the convict testified as a sole witness.
The prosecution said that the convict committed the offence sometime in January 2020 at Block 33, Flat 3, Amuwo Odofin, Mile 2, Estate in Lagos.
According to the prosecution, the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Udoh was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Violence Agency Law, 2021.
0 Comments