A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a man, Dennis Okubiat, to 20 years imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old girl for three months, which caused urinary incontinence.
Justice Ismail Ijelu held that the Man had testified that she went for evangelism and, in the process, went to check on the convict, who had not been coming to church after the pastor of her church said they should visit members who had not been seen in church for some time.
The victim testified that because she respected the Man as an elder of their church, she went to check on him and then helped him wash plates and clean his house after which he offered her Garri, her favorite. She confessed that after she drank the Garri, she lost consciousness.
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In her words,” the Man gave me garri and groundnut to drink, and I slept off. When I woke up, I saw a white substance in my private part, and I woke Okubiat up and asked him what happened to me; he said if I tell anybody, he would kill me.
“He did it several times for three months, and on September 6, 2021, he came to my house and said we should do it; I said I don’t know what you have been doing to me, so he started shouting and calling me to come and do it; that was how our neighbours heard and caught him.
The judge further held that Okubiat didn’t deny the testimony of the victim, nor did he challenge it. He said he knew the girl and that he knew that she was a 12-year-old child.
A nurse, Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a staff of the Women At Risk Foundation, testified during the trial that the victim was brought to their office on September 14, 2021, by her relatives on account of the sexual defilement of a minor.
Nwoke-Okoi further told the court that the victim was examined by Dr Yejide Okungbaye, while she witnessed the examination, and the medical report was issued to the police that referred the case to her organisation.
Justice Ijelu in his judgment held that the court accepts the entirety of the victim’s evidence as it corroborates with that of the medical report.
According to the Judge, “The court finds that the act of the convict harmed the victim as it has caused her extreme psychological impact and social impact.
“Okubiat is hereby sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, to run from the day he was arrested and remanded,”
