MICHAEL AKINOLA
Justice may have come the way of a 14-year old hawker, who was brutally gang raped by two men, Salau Adams and Odeleye Tobi, inside the bush in Ekiti State.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the Ekiti State High Court has convicted them for conspiracy and rape and consequently sentenced them to life imprisonment.
The convicts were said to have committed the crime on 28th February, 2022 at Awo Ekiti in the Irepodun/Ifelodun Council area of Ekiti State. “They did conspire to rape the victim contrary to Section 421 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State and Section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012,” the charge read.
In her statement to the Police, the victim said that she was hawking fried meat when the convicts accosted her under the false pretence of buying meat from her.
“On that day, I was hawking fried meat. Adams and Tobi bought meat worth N100 each; they pretended to bring out money, but instead, Adams brought out a black handkerchief. I decided to leave and report them to my mother. When I turned, Tobi held and carried me from the back, while Adams covered my mouth with the black handkerchief.”
“They carried me to a nearby bush behind their house. Adams first forcibly had sex with me and Tobi did the same. Thereafter, they ran away. I went back home crying, with bloodstains on my clothes,” she added.
In his ruling, the Presiding Judge, Justice Olalekan Olatawura, held that “crime of rape and defilement of children in this jurisdiction is fast assuming a frightening dimension; it is the duty of the Court to send the right signal to would-be rapists”.
“The only way to discourage this dastardly and bestial act would be to punish those found guilty severely. I therefore, hold that the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants had sexual intercourse with the victim and it was not consensual.”
The Court consequently sentenced them accordingly.