A 45-year-old father, Ndukwe Ogbu, has been sentenced to 53 years imprisonment for having sex with his 14-year-old daughter (names withheld)
Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Domestic and Sexual Offences Court, Ikeja, Lagos, who convicted him on Monday for defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his 14-year-old daughter ordered that the prison terms should run concurrently
Delivering the judgement, the trial judge held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt, the ingredients of the alleged offences against the defendant.
The judge also held that the convict is not apologetic for the crime he committed against his daughter during his plea to the court to temper justice with mercy, rather, Ogbu told the court that he had other children to care for.
Justice Abike-Fadipe found him guilty of the three counts charge brought against him by the Lagos State government.
The defendant was prosecuted on a three-count charge offences bordering on defilement, sexual assault, and sexual assaults by penetration of a 14-year-old girl.
Prior to his conviction and sentencing, the Lagos State Government arraigned Ogbu sometime in February 2021 and the trial commenced on October 18, 2021.
During trial, the prosecution had called witnesses and tendered exhibits.
The first prosecution witness, PW1, is a social worker, Femi Oyeleke, who reported the case to the Police.
The second Prosecution Witness, PW2, the victim of the alleged sexual offences and the medical doctor who carried out examination on the child testified against the defendant.
‘My father was having sex with me’ -Survivor
During her testimony, the victim had identified the defendant as her father.
She narrated to the court that she was 14 years when the incident began. She said that her father entered her room naked, and removed her cloth and laid on her.
She told court that her father had been ‘having sex with me’ on several occasions and threatened her not to tell anybody about his actions.
However, she told court that she told her school teacher, who in turn reported the case to the social worker and was later incidented at the police station.
The defendant who testified denied the allegation but told the court that he was not at home as claimed by the victim.
The girl’s father however confirmed to the court that he lived with victim in a-two-bedroom apartment and that the victim have her own room.
The defendant also confirmed that he lost his wife when the children were younger and that the other children lives in the village with their maternal mother but it’s been long that he spoke with them.
The convict also told the court that the victim was mentally unstable that he used to quickly forget things.
In her verdict, Justice Abike-Fadipe held the testimony of the doctor and social worker that it corroborates the testimony of the survivor.
According to the judge, “The victim was 14 years when the alleged offence was committed. Exhibit P1 states the age of the witness, the failure of the defence to cross examined the witness as regards the age of the victim.
Subsequently, Justice Abike-Fadipe found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to three years on count one. The defendant was also sentenced to 25 years on count two while another 25 years on count three.
The judge ordered that the prison term should start counting from December 2019 when he was remanded in prison.
