BREAKING NEWS, Judiciary
AN Ado-Ekiti High Court on Wednesday, May 10, sentenced Ojo Ayodele, a local government worker, to life imprisonment for abducting and raping a 15-year-old girl.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ayodele abducted the minor in Ijero-Ekiti and took her to a secret location in the town where he subjected her to continuous sexual assault for 21 days.
Justice Oluwatoyin Abodunde, in her judgment, found Ayodele guilty as charged and sentenced the accused to life jail.
The judge, who also found Ayodele guilty of abduction, sentenced him to seven years for the offence.
The jail terms are, however, to run concurrently.
Gbemiga Adaramola, director of Public Prosecution, said that Ayodele was first arraigned on February 2, 2016 on a two-count charge of rape and abduction.
The prosecution called seven witnesses during trial and tendered exhibits which included statements of the victim and that of the convict and a medical report that established the rape.
The convict did not call any witness in the course of the trial although Tosin Osundahunsi, his counsel, was in court during sentencing.
The prosecution had told the court that a concerned resident who saw blood stains on the victim’s clothes took her to Ijero Local Government Immigration Office to report the case.
Ayodele was later caught at the council secretariat after the victim identified him as the abductor who subjected her to serial raping.
The immigration officers promptly arrested the convict and took him to Ijero Police Station where the case was reported.
NAN reports that prior to the incident, the victim was living with her stepmother after her father and mother divorced, with the latter relocating to Port Harcourt.
She was said to have met the convict who promised to take care of her after she ran away from home. (NAN)
— May 10, 2017 @ 18:35 GMT
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