Commercial driver bags life imprisonment for defilement

Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, has sentenced a 24-year-old commercial driver, Abdul Hudu, to life imprisonment for defilement and abduction of a 10-year-old girl for three days.

In his judgment, the court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the two-count charge filed against the defendant.
According to the court, the facts of the case were distressing as the convict cruelly abducted the 10-year-old survivor from the safety and care of her parents, for three agonising days.

The court said: “Her father could not eat. Her mother cried incessantly and became sick with worry over their missing child. The callous disregard you showed for a child’s well-being and the emotional torment inflicted on her parents is shocking. And worse still, during those three days, you repeatedly defiled and sexually assaulted this vulnerable young girl at the tender age of 10.

“She experienced unthinkable trauma and violation at your hands, which no child should ever have had to endure, and her innocence was stolen. Throughout this trial, you have shown no remorse. You lied blatantly in your testimony, denying the clear evidence against you, including your prior statement to the police. The web of falsehood you spun to evade responsibility only compounded your culpability.”

Oshodi held that it was a severe case of child abduction and defilement, and the law viewed the offences as deserving of severe punishment. He further said that the fact that the convict was a first-time offender did not deflect the preceding.

The judge ruled: “In light of the gravity of the offences, the aggravating features and the absence of remorse, I sentence you as follows. On count one, the offence of abduction contrary to Section 141, I sentence you to two years imprisonment and it shall commence on the date of your arrest, July 23, 2019, as shown in exhibit A-A1.

“On count two, the offence of defilement contrary to Section 137, I sentence you to the mandatory life imprisonment, and you shall also be registered as a sex offender.”