A 58-year-old man, Obinna Izegben, was, yesterday, sentenced to 60 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a six-year-old old primary school pupil by Justice Sybil Nwaka of the Ikeja Special Offences and Sexual Court.
Justice Nwaka sentenced Izegben after he found him guilty of the charge of defilement brought against him by Lagos State.
He held that “this defendant is charged with the offence of defilement of a child, contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
“Upon his plea of guilty, the prosecution stated the fact of the case and it was established that he was found guilty of the offence. I cannot agree less with the prosecution, because of the rate at which men in large number defile children.”
Justice Nwaka further said that children are no longer safe with uncles, teachers and even fathers.
He said: “This is sad. I encourage children to come out and report all cases of assault and defilement against them. The state of Lagos has zero tolerance for defilement.
“I, hereby, sentence the defendant to 60 years imprisonment with hard labour,” Justice Nwaka pronounced.
His conviction is the first since the inauguration of the special court on February 1.
According to the prosecution, led by Mr. B. T. Boye, the convict was arraigned on February 12, alongside two others, Raimi Jimoh, first defendant, and Kazeem Olohunwa, second defendant, on a three-count charge bothering on defilement.
He pleaded guilty while the two others denied the charge.
