A Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, sitting in Ikeja, on Monday sentenced a 56-year-old driver, Folarin Raufu, to life imprisonment for defiling his employer’s grand-daughter, aged 5years.
Justice Abiola Soladoye held that the prosecution successfully proved all the ingredients of defilement against Raufu.
Soladoye said the conduct of the convict was nasty, devoid of character as his own way of saying ‘thank you’ to his employer was to defile his grand-daughter.
According to her, the survivor brilliantly presented the sequence of the incident of how the convict recklessly had canal knowledge of her.
She said: “The survivor was lucid and unshaken during her cross-examination as she spoke eloquently and intelligently detailing the gory incident of how her grand-father’s driver ruthlessly defiled her whenever no one was at home.
“The survivor recognized the defendant as Mr Folarin, who had sexual intercourse with her both in the living room and inside her grand-father’s jeep, as he put his penis inside her ‘bumbum.
“The survivor said the defendant was brutal with her that he had sex with her in the jeep when there was no light in the house.
“The grand-father, who was the prosecution witness two (PW2), in his testimony said his grand-daughter whispered in his ears that the defendant defiled her which necessitated his arrest,”
Soladoye further said the defendant’s attempted to buy his way out of the charge was a colossal waste of time as he was a pathological liar.
According to her, the convict was a pathological liar, who tried to deter himself from the charge, as he claimed not to understand English Language but he responded as the registrar of the court court read out the charge in english.
“The defendant denied having sexual intercourse with the survivor but told the court he only planted kisses on her cheeks and cuddled her.
“Under cross-examination, he denied making any statement at Ojodu Police Station but the same statement was tendered and admitted in evidence as exhibit B.
“He told the court he did not understand english but when the registrar was reading put the charge, he was already replying.
“He lied to the face of the court,” she said.
The judge held that the evidence of the survivor was corroborated by the medical report from Mirabel Medical Centre as well as the testimonies of other two prosecution witnesses.
She added that there was an overwhelming evidence before the court in support of the charge against the convict.
“The defendant is an ingrate who should be named and shamed as a disloyal, unreliable and untrustworthy employer.
“The court finds you Folarin Raufu guilty of the offence as charged and hereby sentenced you life imprisonment imprisonment.
“The convict should have his name registered in the sexual offences register as maintained by Lagos State,” the judge said.
Soladoye called parents and guardians to resist from entrusting their children to the care of “good for nothing staff” so that they were not sexually violated.
“The need for supervision at all time can not be over emphasized in this age and time where sexual abuse is being perpetrated.
“Furthermore, children should be trained to speak up and report any such sexual violations against such person’s to their parents, teachers or authorities so that they can be properly investigated,” She said.