The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State, has sentenced a 53-year-old rubber trader, Kenneth Mba, to life imprisonment for defiling his friend’s 12-year-old daughter.

The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, in a judgement delivered on Monday, February 12, 2024, held that the prosecution proved the charge of defilement against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge sentenced Mba to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of the offence of defilement of a minor.

Justice Oshodi said the convict’s confessional statement that he defiled the survivor in his room three times and gave her N200 each time after sex was corroborated with the survivor’s testimony.

He, however, said his oral evidence to deflate from the charge did not hold waters.

The judge described the convict as a pathological liar whose testimony was an afterthought as his testimony lacked credibility.

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Justice Oshodi said the convict betrayed the trust the survivor’s father had for him as they had been friends for over 20 years.

The judge held that the evidence of the survivor was unequivocal, straightforward, and full of clarity.

The judge also held that the confessional statement was consistent with the evidence before the court.

Justice Oshodi, thereafter, convicted and sentenced Mba to life imprisonment.

He also ordered that the convict’s name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.

The judge said: “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.

“I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment.

“You shall serve your term in Ikoyi Custodial Centre where you are currently being held.”

The state counsel, Inumidun Solaarin, presented three witnesses, while the convict testified as a sole witness.

Solaarin told the court that the convict committed the offence in the Yaba area of Lagos in April 2021.

According to her, the offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The Star