In a landmark ruling, the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court handed down a life imprisonment sentence to 42-year-old Suleimon Usman for the heinous crime of defiling his own eight-year-old daughter.
The court found Mr. Usman guilty of the two-count charge of defilement, while he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Rahmon Oshodi, presiding over the case, acquitted the defendant of the second charge due to the prosecution’s failure to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.
However, the judge emphasized the credibility of the survivor’s testimony and the corroborating evidence presented.
According to the survivor’s account, she experienced excruciating pain when her father inserted his finger into her vaginal and also penetrated her anus with his penis.
The survivor’s testimony aligned with the medical doctor’s report, which revealed redness in the vaginal lips, signs of healing in the anus, and evidence of penetration.
Justice Oshodi, after careful consideration of all the evidence presented, found the survivor’s testimony credible and dismissed any notion of coaching.
Additionally, the judge highlighted the eye witness account wherein the survivor stated, “my daddy used to carry me every night from our room and put me in the parlour and put his penis in my bombom.”
Regarding the defendant’s credibility, Justice Oshodi stated that the mother’s testimony, identifying the family parlour as the crime scene, outweighed the defendant’s unreliable statements. Consequently, the court delivered a guilty verdict on count one, leading to the life imprisonment sentence for Mr. Usman.
During the trial, the state counsel, Ms Inumidun Solarin, presented four witnesses, including the survivor, an eight-year-old girl, an Investigative Police Officer (IPO), the survivor’s mother, and a medical doctor from the Mirabel Center.
The defence called three witnesses in an attempt to challenge the prosecution’s case.
The conviction is in accordance with Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, which condemns the act of defilement.
The crime took place at No. 2 Bale St., Onisewo in Apapa, Lagos, and has underscored the urgent need for stricter measures to protect children against such horrific abuses.
