Alani Rafiu, an Islamic cleric, has bagged a life sentence for defiling a 14-year-old year girl (name withheld).

He was sentenced by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court presided over by Hon. Justice Rahman Oshodi on Monday, 4 November 2024.

Justice Oshodi, who held that the prosecution proved each of the ingredients of defilement against Rafiu, said that the gravity of the convict’s offence could not be overstated as he betrayed the trust placed in him as a religious instructor and family friend.

His Lordship said the convict’s conduct represented a profound violation of secular and religious principles adding that evidence before the court showed a calculated pattern of predatory behaviour.

The court held that the convict deliberately isolated the victim, exploited her vulnerability, and bought her silence with money.

“You betrayed the trust placed in you as a religious instructor and family friend.

“Instead of nurturing and protecting a vulnerable 14-year-old child entrusted in your spiritual care, you repeatedly sexually abused her in a place of worship

The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable.

“At an age when she should be focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure,” Justice Oshodi said.

He further said that there was compelling and consistent proof establishing that the victim was a child and the evidence manifested through multiple sources.

Oshodi, who said the victim, in her evidence, provided a specific, detailed and first-hand account of sexual intercourse with the convict, added that the evidence of the victim was corroborated by the medical report which showed penile penetration.

He said the convict abused religious authority and the sacred space of a mosque to perpetrate sexual violations against the survivor.

The court maintained that places of worship should be sanctuaries of safety and spiritual growth, not venues for the exploitation of children.

Oshodi said: “The prosecution gave evidence that the defendant had sex with her three times in the mosque. The physical and psychological trauma inflicted on this young girl is immeasurable.

“At an age when she should be focused on her education and development, she was subjected to experiences that no child should endure.

“The medical evidence and the prosecutor’s testimony paint a disturbing picture of the physical harm you caused.

“The bleeding she experienced and your callous provision of a handkerchief to clean up the evidence of your abuse demonstrate a shocking disregard for her well-being.

“This court must protect children from sexual predators and send a clear message that such conduct will be met with the full force of the law.”

He further said that there was compelling and consistent proof establishing that the victim was a child and the evidence manifested through multiple sources.

The court, subsequently, convicted Rafiu and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court also ordered that his name be registered in the sexual offences register as maintained by the Lagos State Government.

The state counsel, led by Mr Babajide Boye, called three witnesses through whom several documents were tendered while the convict testified as a sole witness.

The prosecution submitted that the convict committed the offence on August 17, 2021, in Ikotun, Lagos.

The offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.

My body is divine. My soul is divine. I was born sacred. To rape such a person is to rape divinity… and it is to God whom the rapist shall answer. — Angela Abraham

The Bauchi Police Command has announced the death of a two-year-old girl suspected to have been sexually abused to death in Bauchi, the state capital.

Making the dreadful revelation on Tuesday, the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakil, in a statement said the Ningi Police Divisional Headquarters received a report of a motionless body of a two-year-old baby found beside a mosque on Deneva Street, Ningi Local Government Area, with suspected signs of rape.

Wakil stated, “Upon receiving the report, detectives were dispatched to the scene, and the victim’s body was taken to the General Hospital Ningi, where a medical report confirmed that the baby had suffered severe injuries as a result of penetration, which led to her death.

“The state Commissioner of Police, Auwal Mohammed, has directed the Divisional Police Officer to make extra efforts to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“He also called on parents and guardians to ensure the safety of their children, not to allow them to wander around the streets.”

The command also solicited the public’s assistance with any useful information that could help arrest and prosecute the perpetrators.

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, was on Tuesday told how a 10-year-old rape victim continued bleeding, three days after the incident.

Dr. Edith Onovore, the medical doctor who examined the little girl testified in the ongoing trial of Samuel Olaide, over the alleged rape of the minor, told Justice Rahman Oshodi that the girl’s panties had blood stains and even the sanitary pad she wore was also soaked.

Samuel Olaide is standing trial on a count of alleged unlawful defilement of the victim, in an uncompleted building on April 19, 2022, at Odorogba Street, Iragunshi Eredo, Epe, in Lagos State.

According to the prosecution, the offence which was committed between 1 and 3 pm on April 19, 2022, contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The witness who was the first prosecution witness and led in evidence–in–chief by the state prosecuting counsel, Bukola. E. Okeowo, told the court that when the victim was brought to the Epe General Hospital, she observed that the victim was calm, and didn’t show any form of distress.

She revealed that when she examined the reproductive system of the victim, the vagina was red, with bruises on the outer part of the vagina while the hymen was missing.

The doctor who said she had been practising for 12 years and had been working with the Epe General Hospital for three years, said the victim narrated to her that she was in her mother’s shop when Olaide, who lives in the neighbourhood, came and dragged her out.

She said the victim told her that Olaide used a white handkerchief to gag her mouth so that she would not be able to scream for help, and then took her to an uncompleted building where he raped her.

When Okeowo asked her to explain further on her observation, during the examination conducted on the victim, Onovore said, “The general observation was that there was no show of pain, the hymen was missing, the sanitary pad she came with was already soaked in blood and her pants as well.

“Penetration into the vagina can cause the hymen to be missing, forcefully putting a hand into the vagina can cause bruises and the hymen missing”.

The witness also told the court that she carried out viral screening for both the victim and the defendant to see if they were HIV positive.

She said, “We also did a screening for the rapist, to know if he had HIV. Her vagina was forcefully and brutally penetrated because the signs were there.

“There was repeated force trauma and too much bleeding.“

When asked if that was the normal thing they do in the hospital, she said, “Yes, we do request that they bring them, and take them back to the police station.”

Asked whether she saw the defendant when he was screened, she answered that she was not privileged to see him, but confirmed that he was presented at their hospital for the screening.

The prosecutor asked her what other steps she took after the examination, she told the court that after the examination, she counselled the victim, and also commended her for coming forward to report the incident because most people don’t.

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mandy Asagba, the witness said she attended to the victim on April 22, 2022, about three or four days after the incident.

She said that the entrance into the vagina was bruised and that in cases of rape, there is no usual way the victims appear, but that there is a way the vagina appears.

Onovore added that the way the vagina appears is the duration and the age. “The younger the child, the more traumatic for the vagina because of the size.

“In this circumstance, being that the victim was 10 years old, the extent of the trauma was much, even up to the time I was examining her, there were still blood and bruises.

“The pad she used and her pants were soaked. It means that it would have been worse than that when she was just raped,’ she said.

Asked whether she saw any sperm in the vagina during the examination, she said no, “I did not see any sperm in the vagina.”

She also said that the victim was awake so she saw the person who raped her and so was able to identify him.

After listening to the testimony, Justice Oshodi adjourned the case till February 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.

PUNCH

• Lawyer berates FERMA

Following the federal government’s neglect of the busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway, an Abuja-based resident, Daniel Dafor, was on Tuesday, seen making repairs on parts of the road specifically between the Nyanya checkpoint and Muhammadu Buhari International Market, using his funds.

This comes after the road’s neglect had caused significant hardship for commuters.

An Abuja-based lawyer Vincent Adodo, in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, said he had previously alerted the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) about the dire state of the road.

“On October 2, 2024, I sent a formal letter to FERMA’s Managing Director, urging immediate action and even issuing a pre-action notice in case my concerns were ignored,” Adodo said.

Did You Know A Tribe That Prepares Meals Using Water From The Deceased?0:02 / 1:01

“Just two days after submitting the letter, I noticed some repair efforts, but I was surprised to discover that it was the work of one man – Mr. Daniel Dafor – not FERMA.

“While initially I thought that FERMA was behind these efforts, I began to suspect otherwise when I noticed it was only one man who was working on the road day and night.

“Today, I met the man behind these modest efforts. His name is Mr. Daniel Dafor. I approached him while working on the failed portions of the road along the sharp corner.”

He said he sought to know if his efforts were sponsored by the Federal Government, to my surprise, he told me he was undertaking those modest efforts as a volunteer and that the materials he had been using were procured with his resources.

“I bought all the materials myself and work day and night because the situation is urgent, and waiting for the authorities would only cause more delays and suffering for road users,” he said.

Adodo expressed both admiration and disappointment. “Citizens like Mr. Dafor are rare,” he stated. “It is inspiring to see someone use their resources for the public good. But it’s also deeply scandalous that a private individual has to step in where a federal agency, mandated and funded to do so, has failed.”

The lawyer again called on FERMA to wake up from its slumber and repair the failed portions of the Abuja Keffi Expressway.

“Is it not very scandalous that a private citizen is now doing the work of a Federal Government agency?

“It is more disheartening that despite that its attention has been called to the terrible situation of this road, FERMA, an agency of the Federal Government, has deliberately neglected and failed to perform its statutory functions. And yet, this same agency will present a budget to the National Assembly for approval for work that is not being done,” he lamented.

A former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi has weighed into the debate about the high and unsustainable cost of governance in Nigeria.

Dr. Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought was a guest speaker at the 6th annual lecture of Just Friends Club of Nigeria (JFCN), which took place on Tuesday, at Bolingo Experia Hotel in Abuja.

Speaking on the topic: High Cost of Governance as an Impediment to Development, the former NERC boss who cautioned that Nigeria’s poor economic situation calls for great prudence and fiscal discipline expressed concern that “Nigeria is highly indebted to the point that we service our debts with almost 80-90% of our revenue.”

He also pointed out that: “We are not just a highly indebted country, we are borrowing to service the debts, further worsening our economic situation. We are stuck in debts after we struggled to free ourselves from debt under President Obasanjo administration.”

Amadi however proffered some solutions.

“The problem with managing cost of governance is that it is multidimensional and must be part of a strategic vision of development. The problem of development in Nigeria can be summed by in three phrases- coherence, comprehensiveness and consistence. Incoherence relates to alignment between institutions, policies and bureaucracy. The overarching element of a strategic vision of development is that it must flow from a proper diagnosis of the problem.

“The problem with the public service is not that we have too many departments, agencies and ministries as much that we have created multiple agencies without clear-cut idea of how each agency reinforces the concept and project of development. Development requires coherent ideas and coherent practice.

We cannot reduce cost of governance in any systematic and effective manner unless we can articulate a strong and coherent vision of government and design simple processes that enable us to deliver. We have to learn from nature itself. Nature fits organ to function. We have to create structure that matches function. Simplicity is an art of genius. We need simple system that are cost efficient and effective.

“The process of development involves three stages: strategy, operation and tactics. In strategy, you start with diagnosis which correctly captures the social pathology that you want to cure. If we mistake the social pathology we administer the wrong cure. From accurate diagnosis we get to directing policy.

“Directing policy asks where you want to be, what new state of affair do you want. When you have a clear directing policy which shows what is changing, then you get to coherent set of actions to create the new future. The problem is that Nigeria’s cost of governance reform does not follow this rigorous analysis.”

• Watch the video

WhatsApp users in Equatorial Guinea on November 4 witnessed notable disruptions as the option to send and download multimedia files using mobile data was unexpectedly disabled.

Meanwhile, one of the women in the Equatorial Guinea sex scandal committed suicide after seeing her trending videos.

Many users are concerned that this interruption may be linked to recent government directives urging telecommunications operators to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content, following the emergence of explicit videos featuring Baltasar Ebang Engonga, the former Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF).

As a result of the changes, users are now unable to exchange photos, videos, and audio files over mobile data connections, forcing them to rely exclusively on Wi-Fi networks for sharing such content.

This decision has sparked frustration among the population, with many questioning whether the entire country should pay the price for the actions of a few individuals.

Critics argue that this measure seems disproportionate and punitive, impacting thousands who rely on these platforms for both entertainment and professional or educational activities.

In a time when digital communication is essential, users are raising concerns about the justification of restricting access to key communication functions.

The current limitations not only hinder effective communication but also interfere with daily activities.

This situation has ignited fervent debate among citizens, many of whom believe the government’s approach is more focused on control than on facilitating communication.

To date, authorities have not provided any explanations regarding the reasons behind this restriction or its expected duration.

In a landscape where timely information and communication are more critical than ever, the lack of transparency exacerbates public concern.

The lingering question remains: Is it fair for the entire population to suffer the consequences of the actions of a few?

Watch a video of the woman who committed suicide below.

This scandal surfaced during a fraud investigation against Engonga, leading to unannounced searches of his home and office by ANIF officials, where they discovered numerous CDs revealing his illicit encounters with various married women.

Reports indicate that over 400 videos include interactions with high-profile figures, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of Equatorial Guinea’s president, the wife of the Director General of Police, and around 20 wives of ministers, among others.

The footage, which was recorded with consent, has since leaked online, igniting significant media attention.

In a recent update, local news outlet Ahora EG reported that citizens are expressing frustration over their inability to share photos, videos, and audio via mobile data, forcing them to rely solely on WiFi networks for such activities.
Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, revealed plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This measure is to ensure strict compliance with public service laws and curtail misconduct among officials.