Man bags life imprisonment for defiling Daughter

Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, has sentenced a 42 year old man, Suleimon Usman to life imprisonment for defilement of his 8 years old daughter.

The judge sentenced him to life imprisonment after he was found guilty as charged by the Lagos State government.

The state government had arraigned Usman on a two counts charge bordering on defilement of his two daughter of 8 years and 5 years at his No.2 Bale Street, Onisewo in Apapa area of Lagos State.

His offence contravenes the provisions of section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

He had pleaded not guilty to the two counts charge.

Mr Usman was first arraigned before Justice Sybil Nwaka on October 2019 before the judge was elevated to the Court of Appeal and the case file was reassigned to Justice Oshodi court wherein he was rearraigned on two counts charge.

He also pleaded not guilty to the two counts and the prosecution commenced his trial.

During trial, the prosecution called four witnesses among whom was the first survivor, the 8 years old girl, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO), the defendant’s wife (the mother of the survivors) and the medical doctor from Mirabel center.

After the close of prosecution’s case, defendant opened his defence. He called three witnesses including the defendant.

The survivor in her testimony identified the defendant as her father. The first survivor narrated to court how her father defiled her repeatedly.She said, “what happen is that, my daddy use to carry me every night to our parlour ( living room), he use to put his pennis in my bombom.”

She had further testified that she informed her school teacher who is close to her mother. She told court that she did not tell her mother because the defendant had warned and threatened her that she will die if she tell her.

She told her teacher that she felt pain in her bombom. She said she didn’t tell her mother because her father told her he will kill her, the statement she repeatedly told court during cross examination.

The defendant wife jsurvivor mother), in her testimony narrated to court how she discovered that her two daughter were defiled when she took the two girls to the hospital.

She went to the teacher to help her get information as to why her daughter was not walking properly.

The teacher later told her she doesn’t want to scatter her home. She further told court that she took them ( the two girls) to the laboratory. During the examination, the nurse told her they have been dis-virgin. The girls said they were sexually abuse by their father. She was later directed to Ben Bruce Organisation before Mirabel center.

The Survivors’ mother told court how she sexually satisfied the defendant. She expressed her bitterness that the man she is married to defiled his own children.
Under cross examination, survivor mother told court that there was a night she met the defendant and the girl in their parlour. She recounted that, when she asked him, he told her that he helped the survivor to answer the call of nature ( carry the girl to urinate). She told court she would never lie against her husband.

But the defendant had told the court that his wife lied against him because he wants to relocate his wife to the village. He said the Court his wife concoted the lie because he wants to marry another wife and is afraid of him taking the girls from her.

However, Justice Oshodi in his judgment exonorated the defendant of the second charge.

The court held that the prosecution failed to prove the second charge against the defendant as the second survivor did not testify to the 2nd charge related to her defilement.

On count one, the court held that the testimony of the first survivor corroborated the medical doctor. The court admitted survivor’s evidence that she felt pain in her bombom. She said her father used to put finger in her virginal and her daddy use to put his penis in her anus.

The court said that it has considered the ingredients of the offences, the confessional statement, circumstantial evidence and the eye witness account.

Justice Oshodi therefore sentenced him to life imprisonment.