Wednesday, January 15, 2025 - The Ikeja S3xual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced an Arabic teacher, Oladosu Sakiru, to 21 imprisonment for attempting to s3xually assault a 13-year-old female pupil.
The trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, sentenced Sakiru following his
guilty plea to the amended two counts of attempted s3xual assault by
penetration and indecent treatment of a child.
Oshodi, in his judgment, reprimanded the convict for breaching the trust
the parents of the survivor had in him for enrolling their children in the
Islamic school.
The judge held that the evidence before the court
deduced a pattern of predatory behaviour as the convict subjected the survivor
to inappropriate touching and forced himself on her.
According to him, when the convict was confronted with his action, he
sought refuge in the often-repeated phrase, “It was the work of the devil.”
Oshodi held that religious leaders, and teachers such as the convict,
held a sacred place in society and when such individuals broke the trust placed
in them by preying upon children, the court must respond with appropriate
severity to reflect society’s condemnation and deter others from committing
similar acts.
“As an imam and an Arabic school teacher, you occupy a position of
significant trust, that trust extended not only to the 13-year-old child, the
one you victimised but also to her parents and the entire community who look to
you for spiritual and moral guidance. You betrayed this trust in the most
deplorable manner,” he said.
However, the court sentenced Sakiru to 14 years imprisonment on count
one and seven years jail term on count two.
Oshodi held that the jail terms should run consecutively and that the
convict’s name should be registered in the Lagos State S3xual Offences
Register.
Earlier, the defence counsel, Mr Nelson Onyejaka, in his allocution,
prayed the court to temper justice with mercy.
Onyejaka told the court that the convict was a first-time offender and
that he had two wives to take care of.
He prayed to the court for leniency in sentencing his client.
The state prosecution counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo, however, prayed the
court to sentence the convict accordingly.
Okeowo told the court that the convict committed the offences between
February and March 2022, on Odusanmi Street, Mushin, Lagos.
The convict had pleaded not guilty when he was initially arraigned on
March 17, 2023.
During the trial, the prosecution called two witnesses (the survivor and
her father) through whom compelling evidence was given against the convict.
The prosecution, however, approached the court on September 6,
2024, that the convict had opted for a plea bargain which necessitated the
amended charge.
According to the prosecution, the offences committed violated Sections
135 and 262 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
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