A former teacher and motorcycle operator at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe, Lagos State, Nwatu Isaac, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil on the school premises.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of defilement, an offence contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Justice Oshodi held, in his judgment, that the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the condemned convict lured the underage girl, whom he had previously taught, into the school’s male toilet on 10 March 2022, where he unlawfully had sexual intercourse with her.
The judge also ordered that Isaac’s name be entered into the Sex Offenders Register in accordance with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021.
The prosecution, led by Inumidun Solarin, called five witnesses, including the survivor, her mother, police investigators and a medical doctor from the Mirabel Centre.
In her testimony, the survivor, who was nine years old when she testified, told the court that Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac”, sent her to the male toilet to fetch a piece of paper.
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👉 JOIN WHATSAPP CHANNELShe said that when she entered the toilet, Isaac pushed her inside, locked the door and sexually assaulted her.
According to her testimony, Isaac threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.
She further told the court that she bled following the assault and that Isaac wiped the blood before sending her out of the toilet.
Her mother subsequently discovered blood on the girl’s underwear and genital area when she returned home from school, prompting her to report the matter.
Medical evidence was also presented before the court. Dr Olubukola Olatunji, a medical doctor with the Mirabel Centre, testified about the findings from the child’s examination, which the prosecution said were consistent with penile penetration.
The defence, led by Anthony Agadah, called eight witnesses and maintained that the convict was not at the school on the day of the alleged offence.
However, Justice Oshodi rejected the defence’s account, finding inconsistencies in the evidence of its witnesses.
The judge also noted that Isaac’s own evidence placed him at the school at the material time.
Justice Oshodi found the child’s testimony credible and held that it was sufficiently corroborated by other evidence before the court.
In sentencing the convict, the judge stressed the gravity of the offence and the abuse of trust involved, noting that the victim knew him as a teacher and trusted him.
The court held that the convict exploited that trust to lure the child into the toilet and commit the offence.
Justice Oshodi also took into account the threat allegedly made to the child after the assault and the convict’s lack of remorse.
Meanwhile, the sentencing proceedings took a further turn after the victim’s mother, through the prosecution, raised concerns that some staff members of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School had allegedly intimidated her and her daughter in and around Epe.
In response, Justice Oshodi directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law, 2022, to ensure the victim and her family received protection and necessary support.
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