Romanus Okoye
A 47- year-old school supervisor, Mr Adegboyega Adenekan, yesterday bagged 60 years imprisonment for defiling a two-year-old girl.
Justice Nwaka held that the prosecution proved its case of defilement beyond reasonable doubt. This is contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The judge said: “The basic elements to consider in this case are that there was penetration whether by hand on any other instrument.
“The little girl said that Adenekan covered her mouth when she attempted to shout. And that he (defendant) defiled her twice inside his office and at the hallway.”
According to the judge, the evidence of the child was corroborated by the medical report from Mirabel Center.
“I have no doubt in mind that this defendant, Adenekan, is the same person the victim said put his hand in her vagina and, therefore, the defendant is hereby convicted and sentenced to 60 years imprisonment,” Nwaka ruled.
The prosecution team led by B.T Boye had called seven witness and closed its case on March 14. While the defence team called five witnesses
Adenekan, who was represented at the trial by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olatunde Adejuyigbe, was charged with child defilement, which he pleaded not guilty. The two-year-old girl in her testimony accused the defendant of defiling her.
“Mr Adenekan put his wee wee (penis) in my bum bum (vagina),” she said. Six witnesses testified for the defence. Two of them who are teachers at the school where the defendant works, described him as a role model.
In his testimony, Adenekan told the court that he found the allegations that he defiled a two-year-old pupil of the school as “false and highly embarrassing.” He said he had built a teaching career spanning over 23 years and no parent had ever accused him of child defilement.
“It was on a Friday, November 14, 2016 around 8pm. I received a call from an unknown number and she introduced herself as a parent in the school. She outrightly told me that I had sexually abused her two-year-old daughter. I was shocked at the allegation. She went on to tell me that we should keep the matter between the two of us and not tell anyone. Thereafter, she sent me a message that read, ‘I want you to still be friendly with my child’.
Adenekan said he reported the matter to the Head Teacher as a result of which a meeting was convened, with the minor’s mother. “During the meeting, it was concluded that the child should be examined by the school’s hospital but the mother refused though she later called her husband who gave his consent,” he said.