The Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja, on Monday, sentenced a security guard, David Jackson, 72, to life imprisonment for defiling a 7-year-old girl.

Justice Abiola Soladoye sentenced Jackson to life imprisonment and held that the prosecution had proved the three ingredients of defilement against the convict.

Delivering her judgment, Soladoye held that the survivor was 7 years old at the time of the incident and during her testimony identified Jackson, a gateman in one of the houses on her street, as her abuser.

“The testimony of the survivor was clear, consistent and coherent under cross-examination.

“The second prosecution witness was a teacher who identified that the survivor was her student.

“She testified that one of the survivor’s classmates had reported to her that the survivor was not feeling well and she was walking in a funny way.

“The teacher, in her evidence, said that she made an inquiry and discovered that the survivor was complaining of pains in her private part and that someone had sexually assaulted her,” the judge said.

Sholadoye also held that the testimony of the survivor’s father was credible and was also corroborated by the evidence of the other two prosecution witnesses.

She said that attempts by the convict to deny the charge did not hold water.

“The defendant is consequently found guilty as charged for defilement of a 7-year-old child contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015 and he is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment,” Soladoye said.

(NAN)

The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta has uncovered two illegal refining sites with 45,000 litres of products suspected to be stolen crude oil in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta.

Navy Commander Patrick Ali, the Base Operations Officer (BOO), representing Commodore Abba Muhsin, Commander, NNS Delta, on Monday led naval personnel to the sites in the coastal communities of Ajasolor and Ogbukoko.

Addressing newsmen, Ali said that five metallic storage tanks, four ovens and five dugout pits were uncovered, adding that a suspect was apprehended with a wooden boat.

“Based on credible intelligence, the NNS Delta Gunboat team discovered illegal refining sites in Warri South Local Government Area.

“This is in line with the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS)’s mandate of the Operation Delta Sanity to end crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and securing critical maritime assets.

“This is one of the series of actions in keeping Delta safe and secured,” he said.

Speaking on the uncovered illegal refining sites, he said that due process would be followed noting that the Nigerian Navy was environmentally friendly.

“You can see that the hoodlums set one of the dugout pits on fire and ran away thus causing environmental degradation. The Navy is environmentally friendly, we will follow due process,” he said.

Ali warned oil thieves and other criminals operating in the maritime space to desist or face the full wrath of the law.

He also said that the NNS Delta was determined to rid-off its areas of operations of crude oil theft and other forms of illegalities.

He, however, thanked all the agencies and individuals that had supported the efforts of the NNS Delta in achieving the feats.

(NAN)

Kaduna Health Workers Begin Five-Day Warning Strike

Health workers across Kaduna State have commenced a five-day warning strike to press home their longstanding demands.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) check revealed that only doctors and laboratory technicians were present in some public hospitals, while many patients had been discharged due to the absence of nursing staff.

Chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives in the state, Mr. Ishaku Yakubu, explained the reasons behind the strike in an interview on Monday in Kaduna. “The health workers embarked on the strike over issues that are yet to be resolved between them and the state government,” Yakubu stated.

Yakubu highlighted that the health workers have been on the CONHESS salary structure since 2009, and the 2012 and 2013 versions of this structure still need review by the state government. “We have been working on these for the government to do something but they approved the doctors and given them 100 per cent while we nurses are yet to receive anything from them,” he added.

Since 2015, the state government had promised a salary increase, but, according to Yakubu, “up till now, nothing has been done.” Additionally, the state government has not approved the 2003 hazard allowance sanctioned by the Federal Government.

The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry for Health, Dr. Aishatu Mohamed-Saqid, stated that she would officially respond to the situation on Tuesday.