Justice Abiola Sholadoye of the Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Vilence Court on Monday arraigned and sentenced a 32-year-old street sweeper, Damilola Omojolowo, to life imprisonment for defiling a 14-year-old girl.
Omojolowo was found guilty on a single count of defiling the girl, whom he falsely claimed was his girlfriend.
This act contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State. As per the prosecution’s case, the convict engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse with the victim.
During the arraignment, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him.
According to the prosecution counsel, A.R. Abolade, the convict committed the offense between June 2022 and July 2022 at No. 3 Church Street, Ajegunle, Ikorodu Road, Lagos.
The prosecutor also revealed that the incident was brought to light on August 6, 2022, when the convict gave the victim a white tablet, leading to her experiencing bleeding. Subsequently, she was taken to the hospital.
The convict acknowledged engaging in unlawful intercourse with the victim, claiming she was his girlfriend. However, he denied administering any tablet to her.
Justice Soladoye pronounced the sentence for Imoh after the prosecutor presented the details of the case.
“It is right that a minor cannot consent to any sexual activity. Even if she did, it is of no use.”
“He denied giving any tablet to the victim to ingest. It is important to stress that the only charge to this case is that of defilement of the child; so, the issue of the swallowing of the tablet by the child is of no importance.”
“Since the offence of defilement is a strict liability offence with a mandatory sentence, the defendant, Damilola Omojolowo, is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for defilement, contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
“The defendant, Damilola Omojolowo, male, is to have his name registered in the sex offenders registry as maintained by Lagos State Government.”