A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former teacher, Nwatu Isaac, to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe.
Justice Rahman Oshodi handed down the sentence on Tuesday after finding Isaac guilty of sexually assaulting the child on March 10, 2022.
The court held that the prosecution successfully established the offence beyond reasonable doubt and subsequently 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 prescribes life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
Court: Prosecution Proved Its Case
Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi said the prosecution established the two essential ingredients of the offence — that the victim was a child and that Isaac had sexual intercourse with her.
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The former teacher had denied going beyond the school gate on the day of the incident.
He told the court that he went to the school to pick up pupils whom he transported on his motorcycle but remained at the gate.
The judge, however, rejected the explanation, noting that Isaac’s own evidence placed him at the school at the relevant time, while the victim identified him as the person who took her into the toilet.
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The court also dismissed his defence of alibi.
“On the convict’s own admission, he was not at a considerable distance from the scene. He was at its gate,” Justice Oshodi held.
“The prosecutrix’s evidence places him inside the premises. The defence of alibi therefore does not avail him.”
Victim’s Testimony Found Credible
Justice Oshodi described the testimony of the victim, who was nine years old when she testified, as “clear, detailed and coherent.”
The court said the girl consistently narrated how Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac”, took her into the school toilet and sexually assaulted her.
She also identified Isaac in court.
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According to the judge, her evidence remained consistent even after lengthy cross-examination by the defence.
The court found further support for her testimony in the evidence of her mother, who told the court that she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear and vagina shortly after the child returned home from school.
A medical doctor who examined the girl at the Mirabel Centre also gave evidence before the court.
Justice Oshodi said the medical examination revealed findings including an easily dilatable introitus, an absent hymen and marked laxity of the anal sphincter.
The judge held that the vaginal findings were consistent with penile penetration.
No DNA Test Does Not Weaken Case — Judge
The defence had argued that the prosecution’s failure to conduct DNA or sperm testing weakened its case.
Justice Oshodi rejected the argument, holding that the medical evidence corroborated the evidence of penetration.
The judge also dismissed a suggestion by the defence that the child could have been sexually abused by her stepsister, describing the claim as speculation.
The court equally rejected an audio recording tendered by the defence in which a teacher claimed that the child later said the incident was a dream.
Justice Oshodi noted that the teacher had initially responded, “No, it can’t,” when the child reported the allegation and subsequently questioned her until she denied the incident.
The judge held that the subsequent denial could not be regarded as a free or reliable statement.
Court Rejects Toilet Survey
The defence had also tendered a survey report intended to show that the school toilet was too small for the alleged offence to have occurred there.
The judge rejected the report, noting that the survey was conducted more than three years after the incident and during the pendency of the case at the instance of the convict.
Justice Oshodi further observed that defence witnesses gave conflicting accounts about the number of toilets in the school.
He added that the surveyor could not establish that the toilet he measured was the same toilet referred to in the allegation.
Judge Rejects Claim of Tribal Motive
Isaac had also claimed that the prosecution was motivated by tribal sentiment because he is Igbo.
The court rejected the claim, saying there was no evidence of previous hostility between Isaac and the victim’s family.
Justice Oshodi instead noted that the victim’s mother had previously given Isaac a gift after he taught her daughter.
The judge therefore concluded that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“Therefore, I find that on 10 March 2022, in the male toilet of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School, the convict had sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix by penetrating her vagina with his penis. The second ingredient has been proved beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge held.
Judge Orders Protection for Victim
While sentencing Isaac, Justice Oshodi said the convict had abused the trust placed in him by the child and her family.
The judge noted that Isaac was previously the girl’s teacher and that parents in the community also entrusted their children to him for transportation on his motorcycle.
According to the court, Isaac exploited that trust to lure the child into the toilet and commit the offence.
Justice Oshodi said the court had a duty to protect children and make clear that sexual abuse of minors would attract the full force of the law.
He consequently sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment.
The judge also directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law 2022 to secure whatever protection and support the victim and her family may require.
The order followed a complaint by the victim’s mother during the sentencing hearing that staff members of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School had allegedly continued to intimidate her and the victim in Epe.
Justice Oshodi, however, expressly stated that the court made no finding on that complaint.
The prosecution was led by Inumidun Solarin, with B.E. Okeowo and I.E. Balogun, while Anthony O. Agadah represented Isaac. E.I. Ukpabio held a watching brief for the nominal complainant.
