An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, has sentenced a 71 years 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 a one-count charge bordering on rape.
The charge read, “That Sule Adeola on 2nd June 2023 at the Federal Housing Estate in Ado Ekiti did rape a 10-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(1) of the Child’s Right Law, Cap. C7, laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”
The 10-year-old victim living with her grandmother, had said that 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 person’s sexual assault, hit new high 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 judge pronounced, “The defendant, Sule Adeola, is found guilty of the offence of rape of a 10 years old girl as charged. He is accordingly sentenced to life imprisonment.”
Ekiti vows tougher penalties for gender-based violence offenders
In a related development, the Ekiti State First Lady, Olayemi Oyebanji, has reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to imposing stringent penalties on perpetrators of gender-based violence.
In a communiqué at the end of a two-day workshop on Gender-based Violence organised by the Office of Ekiti State First Lady and the Ministry of Local Government Affairs, the governor’s wife pledged to rally around stakeholders to step up efforts to drastically reduce the menace in the state.
According to the communiqué made available in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, the First Lady said, “Perpetrators of GBV in Ekiti State will always face the consequence of their actions to serve as deterrents to others.
“GBV is a human rights violation that threatens the well-being and development. Participants should make judicious use of the workshop to create actionable plans and key into the issues of GBV in various communities in tackling the menace.”
The Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Folorunso Olabode, lauded the governor’s wife for the enriching and educative workshop on combating GBV, which was aimed at raising awareness, providing education and developing strategies to combat GBV in the state.
Olabode advised participants comprising stakeholders including the state Attorney-general; top female elected officials and political appointees; top female civil servants; local government chairmen and their spouses and gender desk officials, among others to put into action all that had been learnt for a good turn around on GBV.
The communiqué listed resolutions at the workshop to include that the government should ensure comprehensive and standardized procedures for receiving, documenting and reporting to GBV.
Participants at the workshop also resolved that the government should establish a dedicated task force/response unit for the safety of the victims, ensure continuous training on GBV, and provide necessary equipment for gender desk officers in the Councils.
They also want “disciplinary actions taken against any official who fails to respond to GBV cases, ensuring that the First Lady’s project, Widows and Orphans Hope project should be replicated in local governments.”
The stakeholders also resolved that “governments should ensure payment of adequate compensation to the survivors of GBV, empower law enforcement agencies and the judiciary on prompt attendance to GBV cases and the establishment of gender court” among others.
