Man bags life jail for raping neighbour’s granddaughter in Ekiti

An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced a 71-year-old man, Sule Adeola, to life imprisonment for raping a 10-year-old girl.

The defendant was charged to court on June 22, 2023, on one count bordering on rape.

The charge read, “That Sule Adeola on June 2, 2023, at the Federal Housing Estate in Ado Ekiti did rape a 10-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(1) of the Child Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”

The 10-year-old victim living with her grandmother had said the defendant, who was her grandmother’s neighbour, violated her between 2021 and 2023, but she did not tell her grandmother initially because the defendant had promised to kill her.

To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called four witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statement and medical report as exhibits.

The defendant spoke through his counsel, Adefolaju Ayobioloja, and called three witnesses.

In the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Blessing Ajileye said, “It is unfortunate and saddening that recorded cases of intimate persons’ sexual assault hit new heights every day.

“From the totality of evidence on record, I am more persuaded by the prosecution’s evidence that there was proof of penetration, there is no scintilla of evidence available to the contrary. In all, I found that the prosecution proved the most essential ingredient of rape i.e. penetration. The defendant penetrated the vagina of the victim and I so hold.

“The defendant, Sule Adeola, is found guilty of the offence of rape of a 10-year-old girl as charged. He is, accordingly, sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge pronounced.