A 37-year-old farmer, Joseph Agbomu has bagged life imprisonment for defiling his neighbour’s six-year-old daughter in Owo Ondo State.
In his judgement, Hon. Justice Yemi Fasanmi of Ondo State High Court, Akure, held that the prosecution proved the case of rape beyond reasonable doubt.
In February this year, a 27-year-old farmer in the same Ondo State raped a 10 year old girl to death and claimed it was a mistake.
Agbomu was arrested by officers of the state police command after committing the act in Ijebu-Owo, Owo Local Government Area of the state on September 12, 2018, at about 7:30 pm.
He was later charged to court in March 2019.
The convict, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor said the offence committed contravened Sections 375, 378 of the Ondo State Criminal Code, 2006.
Justice Fasanmi also held that the testimony of the victim was convincing and truthful.
According to His Lordship, the convict, in his extra-judicial statement obtained on December 12, 2019, confessed to the commission of the crime, that he had carnal knowledge of the victim in his room without using a condom after taking a herbal alcoholic drink.
According to the court, the victim’s testimony is corroborated by the convict’s confessional statement that he had unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
Justice Fasanmi highlighted the severe, emotional, and psychological trauma inflicted upon the victim, who had regarded Agbomu as a paternal figure due to their connections as kinsmen.
The judge added that the victim’s trust was shattered by the abhorrent actions of the perpetrators, leaving a lasting impact on her well-being.
The court’s ruling acknowledged the gravity of the offense committed by Agbomu, recognizing the irreversible harm caused to the young girl and the need for justice to be served.
“The defendant (Agbomu) is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for the defilement of a child to serve as a deterrent to others who might engage in such an act,” the court held.
Back in March, Isreal Ikumuyi, a 27-year-old farmer, was arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Oke Eda, Akure, for raping a 10-year-old girl identified as Esther Friday to death.
The incident happened on February 2, 2021, at Akinfosile village near the Igbotako community in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo state.
It was gathered that the primary school girl was lured into the room by the suspect who promised to give her some money.
Ikumuyi claimed that he never intended to kill Esther, saying that he suffocated her to death while covering her mouth with a cloth to muffle her cries for help.
He reportedly told police interrogators that he had no girlfriend and developed a sexual urge when the victim followed him to his room.
“She came to meet me in my kitchen asking me for money, but I told her the money I have is to cook soup. After some time, she returned; she followed me from the kitchen to the bedroom, still begging me for money. I later gave her N100 and slept with her in the room,” he explained.
He stated that as she lay beside him on the bed, he developed amorous feelings since he has no girlfriend.
“Initially, I didn’t mean to rape her, but when she slept with me on the bed. I felt aroused and decided to have sexual intercourse with her quickly. I did not force her to have sex with me.
“We were together on the bed, but I had trouble penetrating her despite all my efforts, and I had to cover her mouth with a cloth so that she could not raise the alarm.
“She was crying, but nobody could hear or come for her help as I covered her mouth with a cloth. She suffocated to death in the process. She died when I was having sex with her.”
He said he became afraid after he noticed that the girl died so he decided to lock her in the room. The neighbours found Esther’s dead body on his bed.
But Police Prosecutor, Inspector Uloh Goodluck, informed the court on Friday that the suspect lured the victim into his room with the promise of giving her N100.
He said that the accused person’s offence contravened sections 316, 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Vol. 1 Laws of the Ondo State of Nigeria 2006.
Goodluck urged the court to remand the accused person to prison pending the outcome of the legal advice from the Department of Public Prosecution.
The plea of Isreal was not taken as he had no counsel.
Presiding Magistrate, N. T Aladejana remanded him at the Owo Correctional Centre, pending DPP advice.
