TheCable

An Ikeja domestic violence and sexual offences court has sentenced Folarin Rauf, a 56-year-old driver,  to life imprisonment for raping his employer’s five-year-old granddaughter in Lagos.

Abiola Soladoye, the judge, on Monday, convicted Rauf of defilement.

In November 2021, the driver was arraigned on a one-count charge of defilement and pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the prosecution team called the victim and three other witnesses to testify before the court.

The defence team only presented the defendant as the witness.

The victim had told the court that Rauf raped her on several occasions in the grandfather’s living room and inside a Jeep.

In her ruling, Soladoye said the prosecution was able to prove that the defendant raped the victim, who is a minor.

The judge described the action of the defendant as “nasty and devoid of character”, adding that he compensated his employer with the defilement of their granddaughter.

“The prosecution has satisfied the three ingredients and the evidence of the victim corroborated the evidence of the other witnesses,” Soladoye ruled.

“The testimony of the victim was well corroborated by the mother and grandfather before it was reported to the authorities.

“The defence in their written address urged the court to discharge the defendant as there was no evidence against him.

“The conduct of the defendant is nasty, devoid of character, reckless and his own way of saying thank you to his employer was to defile his granddaughter.”

DSVA REACTS

Reacting to the ruling, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), in a statement on Tuesday, said the convict’s name will be added to the sexual offenders register list.

The agency said justice has been served on the crime committed by the convict.

“The sentence passed by Justice Abiola Soladoye represents a significant victory in the fight against sexual offences and domestic violence, and serves as a warning to perpetrators that justice will always be served,” the agency said.