TEACHER GETS LIFE SENTENCE FOR DEFILING EIGHT-YEAR-OLD PUPIL

By ‘Balogun Ibrahim

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former teacher, Nwatu Isaac, to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil in the toilet of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School, Epe.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday, found Isaac guilty of defiling the girl on March 10, 2022, ruling that the prosecution had established the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also ordered that Isaac’s name be placed on the Sex Offenders Register in line with Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law 2021.

Isaac was prosecuted under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which provides for life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.

Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution had proved the two essential elements of the offence: that the victim was a child and that Isaac had sexual intercourse with her.

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The judge dismissed Isaac’s claim that he did not go beyond the school gate on the day of the incident.

The convict had told the court that he visited the school to pick up pupils whom he transported on his motorcycle but remained at the gate.

However, Justice Oshodi held that Isaac’s own testimony placed him at the school at the relevant time, while the victim identified him as the person who took her into the toilet.

The court also rejected his defence of alibi, noting that Isaac did not claim to have been elsewhere when the offence occurred.

The judge observed that, by Isaac’s own admission, he was at the school gate and therefore close to the scene of the alleged offence.

Justice Oshodi found the testimony of the victim, who was nine years old when she testified, credible and consistent.

He said the girl gave a clear and detailed account of how Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac”, took her into the school toilet and sexually assaulted her.

The judge noted that the victim identified Isaac in court and maintained her account throughout cross-examination.

The court also found corroborative evidence in the testimony of the girl’s mother, who told the court that she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear and vagina shortly after she returned from school.

Justice Oshodi further considered the evidence of a medical doctor who examined the girl at the Mirabel Centre.

According to the judge, the doctor found an easily dilatable introitus, an absent hymen and marked laxity of the anal sphincter, with the vaginal findings being consistent with penile penetration.

The judge rejected the defence argument that the absence of DNA or sperm testing weakened the prosecution’s case, holding that the medical evidence supported the evidence of penetration.

Justice Oshodi also dismissed the defence suggestion that the child might have been sexually abused by her stepsister, describing the claim as speculative.

The court similarly rejected an audio recording tendered by the defence in which a teacher claimed that the child later described the incident as a dream.

The judge noted that the teacher had admitted telling the child, “No, it can’t,” when she initially reported the incident, before repeatedly questioning her until she denied the allegation.

Justice Oshodi held that the subsequent statement could not be regarded as freely made or reliable.

The court also rejected a survey report presented by the defence to suggest that the school toilet was too small for the alleged incident to have occurred there.

The judge noted that the survey was conducted more than three years after the incident and during the pendency of the trial, at the instance of the convict.

He further observed that defence witnesses gave conflicting accounts about the number of toilets at the school, while the surveyor could not establish whether the toilet measured was the same one referred to in the allegation.

Justice Oshodi also dismissed the defence claim that the prosecution was motivated by tribal sentiments because Isaac is Igbo.

The judge noted that there was no evidence of previous hostility between Isaac and the victim’s family. He also pointed out that the victim’s mother had previously given Isaac a gift after he taught her daughter.

The judge consequently held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Isaac of defilement.

During sentencing, Justice Oshodi said Isaac had abused the trust placed in him by the child and her family.

He noted that Isaac had previously been the girl’s teacher and that parents in the community also entrusted their children to him for transportation on his motorcycle.

According to the judge, Isaac exploited that trust to lure the child into the toilet and commit the offence.

Justice Oshodi also noted that Isaac had consistently denied the allegation throughout the proceedings and attributed the prosecution to tribal sentiments.

The judge said the court had a responsibility to protect children and make clear that sexual abuse of minors would attract the full weight of the law.

He consequently sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment.

Justice Oshodi further directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law 2022 to secure any necessary protection and support for the victim and her family.

The order followed a complaint by the victim’s mother during the sentencing hearing that staff members of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School had allegedly continued to intimidate her and the victim in Epe.

The judge, however, clarified that the court made no finding on the complaint.

The prosecution was led by Inumidun Solarin, assisted by B.E. Okeowo and I.E. Balogun, while Anthony O. Agadah represented Isaac.

E.I. Ukpabio held a watching brief for the nominal complainant.