An Ekiti-based driver, Ilesanmi Adewale, 42, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a a 16-year-old girl.
Adewale was convicted by the Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti division after he was found guilty of the allegations levelled against him.
He was said to have raped his victim in Isan Ekiti, in the Oye Local Government Area of the state on February 13, 2021 and was arraigned on December 16,2021.
His act is contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Right Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
Narrating her ordeal to the police, the victim said, “My father sent me to Iludun Ekiti from Isan Ekiti to bring his ATM card and the N8,000 he kept at home. On my way back to Isan, I boarded a commercial driver’s car; I was alone with him in the car. He first touched my breast and I cautioned him to stop it.
READ ALSO: Ondo Landlady In Court For Killing Tenant
“On getting to a bush between Isan and Iludun, when he stopped the car, I opened the door and ran away. He pursued, caught me and carried me on his shoulder to a nearby bush. He threatened to kill me with the cutlass in his hand if I refused to cooperate. He removed my pants and forcibly had sexual intercourse with me. I bit his hands and tore his clothes as I cried, but he refused to leave me.
“Then, he collected my father’s ATM card and N8,000 from me. When he returned them to me, he begged me not to tell my father. But as I got back to the road, I saw my father on a motorcycle. I narrated what happened to him; the driver was arrested and later taken to a police station.”
The prosecutor, Folashade Alli, presented three witnesses and tendered the victim’s pants, a cutlass, a medical report and the defendant’s statements, among others, as exhibits.
The defendant spoke through his counsel and called no witnesses.
Justice Monisola Abodunde, in her judgment, said, “The crime of rape of a minor is assuming a frightening dimension in this jurisdiction. I cannot contradict the terms imposed by the law. The mandatory provision is that once a defendant is convicted of rape, he is liable to imprisonment for life.
“Based on the above reasoning and in strict adherence with the provisions of the law, I have no alternative than to sentence the defendant to life imprisonment and I so hold.”