A 22-year-old graduate, Femi Ayoade, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl inside a tricycle in the Eti-Osa area of Lagos State.
The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, who held that the prosecution had proven its case of defilement beyond reasonable doubt.
In her ruling, Justice Soladoye condemned the convict’s conduct, describing him as a “criminally audacious man who turned a child’s vagina into a playground”.
She added: “It is indeed a shameless act. The prosecution has successfully presented compelling evidence against the defendant. Consequently, the defendant is hereby found guilty of the charge of defilement and sentenced to life imprisonment.”
The judge directed that Ayoade’s name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
During the trial, Lagos State Counsel, Mrs Olufunke Alebiosu, presented two witnesses, the survivor and her father, while the defendant testified on his own behalf as the sole defence witness.
The prosecution told the court that the crime occurred in September 2021, around 11:10 am, at No. 19, Milestone Close, Infinity Estate, Skido Bus Stop, Eti-Osa, Lagos.
The offence, according to the prosecution, violates Section 137 of the Criminal Law, Chapter C17, Volume 3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Graduate bags life jail for defiling 4-year-old inside Keke in Lagos