The 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, Epe.
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Isaac after finding that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that he sexually assaulted the pupil in the school’s toilet on March 10, 2022.
The judge also ordered that Isaac’s name be placed on the Sex Offenders Register in line with 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.
In his judgment, Oshodi held that the prosecution established the two essential elements of the offence: that the victim was a child and that Isaac had sexual intercourse with her.
The judge rejected Isaac’s claim that he did not enter the school premises beyond the gate on the day of the incident.
Isaac had told the court that he visited the school to pick up pupils he transported on his motorcycle but remained at the gate.
Oshodi, however, noted that the convict’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.
The judge also dismissed the alibi defence, noting that Isaac had not claimed to be somewhere else when the offence occurred.
“On the convict’s own admission, he was not at a considerable distance from the scene. He was at its gate,” the judge held.
Oshodi described the victim’s testimony as clear, detailed and consistent. The girl, who was nine when she testified, identified Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac”, and maintained her account during cross-examination.
The court found further support for her testimony in evidence from her mother, who said she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear and vagina after she returned from school.
A medical doctor who examined the girl at the Mirabel Centre also testified. According to the judge, the medical examination revealed findings consistent with penile penetration.
The court rejected the defence argument that the absence of DNA or sperm testing weakened the prosecution’s case, holding that the medical evidence supported the evidence of penetration.
Oshodi also dismissed the suggestion that the child might have been sexually abused by her stepsister, describing the claim as speculative.
The judge equally rejected an audio recording tendered by the defence in which a teacher claimed the child later said the incident was a dream.
According to the court, the teacher had initially responded negatively when the child reported the incident and subsequently questioned her until she denied it. The judge therefore held that the later statement could not be regarded as free or reliable.
The court also dismissed a survey report presented by the defence to argue that the school toilet was too small for the alleged offence to have occurred there.
Oshodi noted that the survey was conducted more than three years after the incident and during the trial at the instance of the convict.
He also pointed to inconsistencies among defence witnesses regarding the number of toilets at the school, while the surveyor could not establish that the toilet measured was the same one mentioned in the allegation.
The judge further rejected the defence’s claim that the prosecution was motivated by tribal sentiment because Isaac is Igbo.
He noted that there was no evidence of prior hostility between Isaac and the victim’s family. Instead, the victim’s mother had previously given Isaac a gift after he taught her daughter.
Oshodi consequently held that the prosecution had established its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Isaac of defilement.
During sentencing, the judge said Isaac had abused the trust placed in him by the child and her family.
He noted that Isaac was the girl’s teacher and that parents in the community also entrusted their children to him for transportation on his motorcycle.
According to the judge, Isaac exploited that trust to take the child into the toilet and commit the offence.
Oshodi said the court had a duty to protect children and send a clear message that sexual abuse of minors would attract the full force of the law.
The court therefore sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment and ordered his registration as a sex offender.
The judge also directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law 2022 to secure any protection and support required by the victim and her family.
The directive followed a complaint by the victim’s mother during the sentencing that staff of the school had allegedly continued to intimidate her and her daughter in Epe.
The judge clarified that the court made no finding on the complaint.
The prosecution was led by Inumidun Solarin, assisted by B.E. Okeowo and I.E. Balogun, while Anthony O. Agadah represented Isaac. E.I. Ukpabio held a watching brief for the nominal complainant.
