TheCable

An Abeokuta high court on Wednesday sentenced one Ugochukwu Obiakor to 25 years in prison for raping an 11-year-old girl.

Obiakor, a 36-year-old man, who had pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge, was convicted for forcefully having sexual intercourse with the 11-year-old.

Delivering her judgment, Mosunmola Dipeolu, the chief judge of Ogun, held that the evidence presented before the court by the prosecution was tenable and found the convict guilty as charged.

Dipeolu consequently sentenced Obiakor to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.

James Mafe, the prosecution counsel and director of legal drafting in the state, had earlier told the court that the convict committed the offence on September 4, 2017, at Omu-Aleku village in Mowe area of Ogun.

Mafe said Obiakor forcefully had sexual intercourse with the 11-year-old, adding that a medical result revealed that the victim’s hymen was broken.

He said the victim was in her mother’s shop when Obiakor came to make a purchase, but he later came back when the mother left the shop.

According to the prosecution counsel, the girl was told that her mother owed Obiakor money, and under the pretext of collecting the said amount, he opened the shop’s iron railings and dragged the victim to an uncompleted building beside the shop where he raped her.

He explained that the offence contravened Section 32 of the Child Rights Law of Ogun, 2006.