A man, Sulaiman Usman, 42, has been given a life sentence for defiling his daughter, 8, by the Lagos State Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court.
Usman was found guilty of the charges against him, and Justice Rahman Oshodi gave him a life sentence.
Usman was charged by the Lagos State Government in October 2019, however the matter was transferred to Justice Oshodi after Justice Sybil Nwaka was promoted to the Court of Appeal.
The defendant at his home in the Apapa neighborhood of Lagos State, was later re-arrested on a two-count charge involving the defilement of his two daughters, who were aged eight and five.
The crime violates the 2015 Lagos State Criminal Law’s Section 137 requirements.
After the defendant had entered a not guilty plea, the prosecution started the trial.
The prosecution called four witnesses during the trial: The first victim, his daughter, age 8, the investigating police officer (IPO), the defendant’s wife, who is the mother of the survivors, and a doctor from the Mirabel Centre, a sexual assault referral center.
Following the prosecution’s closing arguments, the defense team called three witnesses, including the defendant, who gave a defense testimony.
In her evidence, the survivor named the defendant as her father. She told the court how “every night” her father would take her to the living room and defile her.
The girl said that she disclosed to her teacher that the incident had left her in pain.
She additionally stated that she told her mother’s close friend, her school teacher, since the defendant had threatened to kill her if she told her mother.
The survivor’s mother in her testimony, described to the court how, after taking her two children to the hospital, she learned that they had been defiled.
She testified before the court that she had sexually gratified her husband, the defendant, and she expressed bitterness over the fact that he was able to sexually assault his own children.
But the defendant, in his testimony, told the court that his wife lied against him because he wanted her to relocate to the village. He said his wife concocted the lie because he wanted to marry another wife and feared that he would take the girls from her.
In his judgement, Justice Oshodi exonerated the defendant from the second count. The court held that the prosecution failed to prove that the defendant defiled the second survivor as no testimony was led in that regard.
On count one, the court held that the testimony of the first survivor was corroborated by the medical doctor. The court also held that the survivor’s evidence that she felt pain in her “bumbum” and that her father inserted his finger and penis in her genitals was believable.
The court said that it considered the ingredients of the offence: the confessional statement, the circumstantial evidence, and the eyewitness account.
“I do not believe that the first survivor was tutored. I reiterate that her evidence is credible,” the judge said.
“Regardless, I have already received eyewitness account of what happened, the prosecution also provided evidence of the medical doctor who examined the survivor which detailed the redness of the vagina lips, the anus which was loose and was starting to heal and the fact that there was penetration in the survivor’s anus.
“I am convinced that the medical doctor’s evidence corroborates that of the survivor. The mother has also said that the crime scene is their family parlour.
“I do not consider the defendant’s testimony as credible. I find the defendant guilty of count one.”
Justice Oshodi thereafter sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment.
“Mr Sulaiman Usman, you have been convicted of one count of defilement. The punishment for defilement is life imprisonment. It is so because society frowns on it. Further, sexual crimes against children are so prevalent that children no longer feel safe in their homes,” he said.
“Further still, our laws in Lagos State have zero tolerance for sexual crimes to send a signal to your gang of paedophiles that it is unacceptable.
“In your case, the victim is your child. The evidence shows that you put your penis in her vagina and anus, repeatedly. You also threatened her, so
she did not report it to her mother at first.
“The victim, who was eight at the time, could not walk properly because she had excruciating pains in her anus and vagina. Later, the medical evaluation revealed that the victim had injuries in her private part and anus. It was the result of the sexual intercourse you had with her.
“Mr Sulaiman Usman, what sexual pleasure did you want from your biological daughter? What you have done is taboo. It is animalistic and cruel. It is unacceptable, and you must be punished.
“Accordingly, I sentence you, Mr Sulaiman Usman, to life imprisonment. Mr Sulaiman Usman, your name shall be registered as a sex offender in the
Lagos State Sexual Offenders’ Register.”
