TheCable

The sexual offences and domestic violence court in Lagos has sentenced one Sikiru Oluwasegun to life imprisonment for raping his 20-year-old neighbour.

Oluwasegun, a painter, was said to have confessed to raping his neighbour, a student, after breaking into her room on the morning of July 19, 2021, because “he liked her”.

During the trial, Rahman Oshodi, the presiding judge, said the prosecution was able to prove the case against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.

“Oluwasegun, in his confessional statement, admitted to making his way into the room of the prosecutrix and raped her because he liked her but he could not tell her as she was new to the compound,” the judge said.

“The defendant is a painter who lived in the same building as the survivor who is a student of the Lagos State Polytechnic, also known as Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu.

“The survivor reported the incident to the student union of LASUSTECH which led to the arrest and prosecution of the defendant.”

He said the defendant’s action shows “callous disregard for the survivor’s fundamental human rights”.

“Being attracted to someone does not give you the right to force yourself on them. There is no justification for rape,” he added.

The judge convicted Oluwasegun of rape under section 260 of the criminal justice laws of Lagos state, 2015.

He added that the convict’s name will be added to the sexual offenders register maintained by Lagos state.