Crime

Businessman bags life imprisonment for defiling 12-year-old daughter

Published

5 months ago

July 9, 2024

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday sentenced a 34-year-old businessman, Oluwafemi Asekeji, to life imprisonment for defiling his 12-year-old biological daughter.

Justice Abiola Soladoye, in her judgment, also held that the Prosecution had proved the three legs of the charge of defilement against Asekeji.

Soladoye said that the convict’s act of having unlawful sexual intercourse with his own biological child was against the law of nature.

She said it was a case of incest which should never be heard of.

According to her, the father of the convict, who is 75 years old, testified against him that he defiled his granddaughter, by having unlawful sexual intercourse with her.

The judge said: “The victim, in her testimony, told the court that she was 14 years old but her father defiled her when she was 12 years old.

“She testified that she was at home with her father, who was drunk on June 11, 2020 and he instructed her to enter the room and lie on the bed.

“She told this court that her father asked her to take off her clothes and then had sex with her.

“She said and I quote ‘he laid on me and put his penis in my vagina, then he took videos of me and threatened to show the video to people if I tell anybody what has happened.”

The court held that the survivor testified that her father instructed her to drink salt water after he had defiled her.

The judge said the survivor told the court that she could not tell anyone earlier because the convict had threatened to kill her if she told anyone that he had been sexually abusing her before the last incident of June 11, 2020.

The judge also held that the medical report revealed that the survivor had been defiled as the report showed the hymen had been broken.

The convict’s mother, a petty trader, in her evidence, also told the court that she returned from the market and saw blood on the pants of her granddaughter and then asked her what happened to her.

She said her granddaughter told her that she was having stomach pain and her father gave her something to drink and then told her the incident that occurred.

The survivor’s grandmother said that a report was made at the Meiran police station and the convict was arrested.

The convict’s brother in his testimony also told the court that the convict had been causing problems in the family and had been arrested before.

The convict who testified as the sole witness in his case denied having sexual intercourse with his daughter.

He said that he did not live with his parents but that he had access to the house adding that his daughter lived with his parents.

The court said in the instant case, the survivor identified her biological father as the man who had sexual intercourse with her several times.

Soladoye said: “Apart from identifying Asekeji as her father, other witnesses confirmed the evidence of the victim.

“Circumstantial evidence and also medical report, evidence of the grandmother, the evidence of the grandfather and evidence of her uncle all points to the convict.

“Oluwafemi Asekeji, you have been found guilty as charged and you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.

“The convict is to have his name registered in the Lagos State sexual Offences register.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict was arraigned before the court on a charge of defilement.

The State Counsel, Ms Abimbola Abolade, told the court that the convict committed the offence on June 11, 2020, at about 11:00 p.m. at Ilupeju Street, Araromi Bus Stop, Meiran in Lagos.

The prosecution called five witnesses while the convict testified as a sole witness.

Crime

2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.

Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.

He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.

He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.

Crime

Mechanic jailed 15 months for pickpocketing passengers

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday, sentenced a 26-year-old Mechanic, Sadiq Umar to 15 months imprisonment for pickpocketing from passengers.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bokkos in his judgment, ordered the convict to pay an option of N100, 000 fine or spend one year in prison.

He also asked him to pay a compensation of N15, 000 or an additional three months in prison in default.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Ijuptil Thiawur, told the court that the case was reported on Nov.16, at the “A” Division Police station by Moses Pam, Alexander Bakshak and Simon Justice the complaints.

Thiawur said that the convict attempted to steal from them before he was caught in the act and when the driver stopped the vehicle to search him he fled but was caught.

The Police said that the offence contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law.

Crime

Police detain 2 suspected fraudsters, reject N66m bribe in Lagos

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

Police rescue 14 passengers from bandits in Jibia

The Zone-2 Police Command in Lagos says it has detained two suspected international fraudsters that allegedly specialised in forging foreign certificates in Lagos and Ghana.

The AIG in charge of the zone, Adegoke Fayaode, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Fayoade said that the suspects allegedly offered N66m to the operatives with a view to free them but the offer was turned down.

NAN reports that the same zone operatives rejected a N174m bribe offered by a suspect in November to set him free.

Fayoade said that the suspects simply identified as Elvis, 23 and Kelly, 24, allegedly specialised in forging certificates of different nations and African Universities and defrauding their unsuspecting victims on the internet.

He said that the suspects have succeeded in acquiring exotic cars and erecting mansions in different parts of the country with the proceeds of their loot.

The AIG pointed out that luck ran out of the suspects after detectives at the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Zone received credible information from Nigerians in diaspora concerning some group of boys that specialised in forging foreign certificates.

According to him, on getting the information, he detailed the anti-corruption unit to investigate it and arrest the suspects without delay.

Fayoade said that based on his directives, the detectives stormed Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos waiting for the arrival of the suspects, whom they trailed to a five star hotel at Osapa-London in Lekki Area.

He said that the operatives arrested the suspects at a bus stop while they were about to escape secretly from the hotel, after monitoring their activities.

“Searching their luggage, one certificate of Blue Crest College, Ghana, belonging to Elvis and a student identity card of Academic City College belonging to Kelly were recovered.

“Further search revealed a transcript of an academic record from Blue Crest University belonging to Elvis.

“A letter of English proficiency from the said college and a letter of recommendation from the same Blue Crest College were recovered,” he said.

The AIG said that the suspects made useful statements to the police and confessed that they never got any admission into the school, stressing that they only procured the degree certificates through the help of a female Nigerian resident in Ghana.

“The suspects further confessed that the major aim of doing that is to enable them to get Ghana resident permit, which they got.

“The resident permit is showing them also as a student of Academic City University and that none of them has ever been admitted in the school.

“They claimed they paid a total of 26,000 Ghana Cedis for all the documents procured.

“They confessed that they procured all the documents to evade arrest in Ghana since they don’t have any means of livelihood.

Whenever police intercepted them, they showed their passports that they were students in Ghana.”

Fayoade said that the suspects were also allegedly involved in online romance scam, provision of foreign bank accounts for fraudulent transactions on the internet through what they call ‘Facebook bombing’.

He said the suspects presented themselves as an American soldier by name Captain Donald Rowe, serving in Syria, whom they impersonated on Instagram, using his name to defraud innocent persons.

The AIG said that while detectives were making frantic efforts to get more credible information from the suspects, they started negotiating to bribe the operatives for them to be set free.

“I directed my men to play along and recover the money as an exhibit. Subsequently, the detectives played along and the suspects paid them a sum of N66m, which they collected and kept as an exhibit.

“The Nigeria Police authorities have written to the Ghana embassy to get more information about the result and their suspected partners in Ghana said to be spearheading the fraud.

Fayoade said that they had also spread their dragnets through the International Police, Interpol, to round up their foreign accomplices.