Artisan gets life imprisonment for defiling 12-year-old girl

An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on Tuesday, November 30, sentenced a middle-aged man and artisan Gbenga Olasunkan to life imprisonment for defiling his 12 years old customer.

The presiding judge, Justice Abiola Soladoye, said the court found the convict guilty of defilement of the minor, hence the life imprisonment sentence passed on him.

She said: “Pouncing on an innocent young girl should be something that should be condemned in all ramifications as she has now suffered emotionally and psychologically.

“This callous defendant is mean and vicious and is not fit to live in a sane society.

“The evidence of the prosecution witnesses has been compelling, consistent and the prosecution has proved the offence of defiling a child under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

“The defendant having been found guilty of the offence as charged, is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment with no option of any fine.”

She further ordered: “His name Gbenga Olasunkanmi should also be registered in the Sex Offenders Register kept by the Lagos State Government. This is the judgement of the court.”

According to the state prosecutor, Mr Peter Owolabani, the convict who is a bag repairer, committed the offence at 5:00 pm on September 6, 2017, at Isolo, Lagos.

The survivor had gone to repair her school bag and when she returned her mother noticed that the bag was not properly repaired and told her to return to the artisan to properly repair the bag.

The prosecutor added, “After he repaired the bag for the second time, as the survivor was leaving, the convict pulled her back and forcefully defiled her in his shop.”

During the trial, three prosecution witnesses were the survivor’s father, the survivor and a medical doctor who had testified against the convict while he testified in his defence.