On Wednesday, November 15, Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja sentenced Gabriel Awaye, a bricklayer, to life imprisonment for defiling a 13-year-old girl in his room.
The judge delivered the verdict after finding Awaye guilty as charged by the state government. The prosecutor had accused Awaye of committing the offences on June 2, 2021, at Agbawaye Street, Command area of Agbado Oke-Odo in Lagos, contravening Sections 127 and 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
In her judgment, Justice Soladoye stated that the prosecution successfully proved the two-count charge of defilement and sexual assault against the defendant. She highlighted the survivor’s lucid and unambiguous testimony, noting its alignment with other prosecution witnesses.
“The prosecution witness one (the survivor) testified before this court that she was at her grandmother’s place when her friend, Rofiat told her that her sister sent for her. The witness narrated that when she got to the place, she did not meet her sister, but saw the defendant who pushed her on the mat and sodomised with her. The evidence of the defendant is laced with lies as he tried to detach himself from the offence by saying the mother of the survivor tried to have sexual relationship with him. To the mind of this court, the prosecution witnesses were truthful in their testimonies and their evidence were corroborated,” she said.
Based on the evidence presented, the judge found Awaye guilty of the two-count charge and sentenced him to life imprisonment for each count. She emphasized that the defendant’s actions demonstrated a lack of fitness to be in the civilized community, and he should be confined for life. Additionally, the court ordered that his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
