The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former teacher, Nwatu Isaac, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of defiling an eight-year-old pupil at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe, Lagos State.
Justice Rahman Oshodi delivered the judgment on Tuesday, finding that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Isaac sexually assaulted the child in the male toilet of the school on March 10, 2022.
The court also ordered that Isaac's name be entered in the Sex Offenders Register in accordance with Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law 2021.
Isaac was prosecuted under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which provides for life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
According to evidence presented during the trial, Isaac had previously taught the girl and later transported pupils from the school on his motorcycle.
The prosecution told the court that on the day of the offence, Isaac asked the eight-year-old girl to go into the school toilet to get a piece of paper.
The court heard that after the child entered the toilet, Isaac followed her inside, locked the door and sexually assaulted her.
The girl subsequently returned home and told her father what had happened.
Her mother also testified that when she examined her daughter that evening, she observed blood on the child's underwear and genital area and noticed that her school uniform was dirty.
The child was later medically examined at the Mirabel Centre.
Dr Olatunji Olubukola Elizabeth, who examined the girl, testified during the trial about the medical findings.
The examination was conducted more than two months after the incident, but the court held that the findings were consistent with penetration and provided corroboration for the child's account.
Justice Oshodi said the prosecution was required to establish that the victim was a child and that the defendant had sexual intercourse with her.
The court found that both elements had been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Isaac denied committing the offence.
He maintained during the proceedings that although he went to the school on the day in question to pick up pupils he transported on his motorcycle, he remained at the school gate and did not enter the premises.
The court rejected his defence.
Justice Oshodi held that Isaac's own testimony placed him at the school at the time the offence occurred.
The judge also ruled that Isaac could not rely on a defence of alibi because he had not claimed to have been somewhere else at the material time.
“On the convict’s own admission, he was not at a considerable distance from the scene. He was at its gate,” the judge held.
The court found the child's evidence credible and consistent.
Justice Oshodi said the victim, who was nine years old when she gave evidence before the court, provided a clear and coherent account of what happened.
The child identified Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac,” as the person who took her into the toilet and assaulted her.
The court noted that her account remained consistent despite lengthy cross-examination by the defence.
The judge also considered evidence from the child's mother and the medical doctor who examined her.
According to the judgment, the mother's evidence concerning what she observed after her daughter returned home and the medical evidence provided further support for the child's testimony.
The defence argued that the absence of DNA or sperm testing weakened the prosecution's case.
Justice Oshodi rejected that argument, holding that such evidence was not necessary in the circumstances because the prosecution had presented other evidence sufficient to establish penetration.
The defence also presented an audio recording in which another teacher claimed that the child later described the incident as a dream.
The court rejected the recording as reliable evidence.
Justice Oshodi noted that the teacher acknowledged questioning the child after she initially maintained that the incident happened.
The judge found that the child's subsequent statement during that interaction could not be considered sufficiently free and reliable to displace the other evidence before the court.
The defence further tendered a survey report concerning the size and configuration of the school toilet.
The report was intended to support the argument that the alleged assault could not have occurred in the toilet as described.
Justice Oshodi rejected that argument as well.
The court noted that the survey was conducted more than three years after the incident and while the criminal proceedings were already underway.
The judge also observed inconsistencies in evidence concerning the number of toilets at the school and found that the surveyor could not establish that the particular toilet measured was the same one in which the offence occurred.
The defence also suggested that the prosecution was influenced by ethnic sentiment because Isaac is Igbo.
The court rejected the claim, finding no evidence that the child's family had any previous hostility towards Isaac.
Justice Oshodi noted that the girl's mother had previously given Isaac a gift after he taught her daughter, which the court considered inconsistent with the suggestion of an existing ethnic dispute.
After considering the evidence presented by both sides, the court found Isaac guilty of defilement.
During the sentencing proceedings, Isaac appealed to the court for leniency.
Justice Oshodi, however, emphasised the seriousness of the offence and the position of trust Isaac occupied in relation to the child.
The judge noted that Isaac had previously been the girl's teacher and was also trusted by parents within the community to transport their children on his motorcycle.
According to the court, Isaac exploited that relationship of trust to lure the child into the toilet and sexually assault her.
The judge also emphasised that the offence occurred within a school environment where children were expected to be protected.
Justice Oshodi said courts had a responsibility to protect children and ensure that sexual offences against minors attracted the consequences prescribed by law.
The court consequently sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment, the punishment prescribed for the offence under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
His name was also ordered to be entered into the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register.
Justice Oshodi further directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law 2022 to ensure that appropriate protection and support were made available to the victim and her family.
The directive followed a complaint made by the child's mother during the sentencing proceedings.
She alleged that she and her daughter had continued to face intimidation from some staff members of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe.
The judge made clear, however, that the court had made no factual finding concerning that particular allegation.
The prosecution was led by Inumidun Solarin, assisted by B.E. Okeowo and I.E. Balogun.
Anthony O. Agadah represented Isaac, while E.I. Ukpabio held a watching brief for the nominal complainant.
With the judgment, Isaac has now been convicted following a trial in which the court considered testimony from the child, her mother, medical evidence and evidence presented by the defence.
The court concluded that the prosecution established the offence beyond reasonable doubt and imposed the statutory punishment of life imprisonment.
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