Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 33-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Michael Ahmed, to life imprisonment for raping his 21-year-old female passenger. The convict, also known as Ahmed Michael, was found guilty of a two-count charge of rape and serious assault, offences he committed on July 9, 2013, at about 11:30 p.m. on New Covenant Estate in the Gaga area of Ikorodu, Lagos State. The judgment, delivered on April 13, 2022, brought an end to a legal battle that had lasted nearly nine years, with the court ordering that the sentence take effect from July 25, 2013, when the convict was first remanded in detention.
Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution had successfully proven the case against Ahmed beyond reasonable doubt. The judge noted that the victim’s evidence was concise and clear, while the defendant’s testimony was distorted and inconsistent. “He tried to distort the facts in the timing of the incident, how he got to the police station and the name he was called on the day of the incident,” Justice Oshodi said. The court found that there was clear evidence that the defendant forced himself on the victim and that he bit her on the shoulder during the attack. The judge also noted that the convict had attempted to strangle the victim and hit her head in the mud while she fought back.
The prosecution, led by Mr M.T. Adewuyi and Ms A.A. Asiwaju, presented four witnesses during the trial: the survivor, her father, an investigative police officer, and a medical doctor from the Ikorodu General Hospital. According to the prosecution, the victim and her two sisters were at a bus stop when they called the defendant to take them home. After the defendant dropped the two sisters first, he told the survivor he needed to avoid the police at the estate and diverted into another route. He then pretended that the motorcycle was faulty, and when the victim got down to check, he attacked her. The prosecution told the court that the defendant strangled the victim, hit her head in the mud, and raped her. He also bit her on the shoulder and threatened to kill her if she did not comply. The defendant was later arrested at his home by security officials of the estate after the victim reported the incident.
The defence counsel, Mr Ramon Bashir, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that the defendant had no prior criminal record and had turned over a new leaf. “My Lord, the convict is a young man who I believe has turned a new leaf. It is evident before the court that he never committed any offences before today,” Bashir said. However, Justice Oshodi noted that the court had no power to pronounce a lesser sentence for the offence of rape, which carries a mandatory statutory penalty. “The defendant is hereby convicted of the two-count charge of rape and serious assault against him. The court has clearly considered the allocutus presented by the defence counsel. However, the offence of rape is mandatory and the court has no power to pronounce a lesser offence,” the judge ruled.
Consequently, Justice Oshodi sentenced Ahmed to life imprisonment for rape and three years in prison for serious assault, with both sentences taking effect from July 25, 2013, when he was first detained. The court also ruled that the convict’s name would be registered in the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register as required by law. The judgment has been widely praised by women’s rights advocates and legal observers as a strong deterrent against sexual violence, which remains a pervasive issue in Nigeria. The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has consistently advocated for the full prosecution of sex offenders, and this sentence aligns with the state’s zero-tolerance policy on gender-based violence. As of the time of this report, the convict has the right to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
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