Kazeem Adedayo, a man who sexually assaulted an eleven-year-old child, has been given a life sentence by Justice A. Soladoye of the Special Offenses Court in Ikeja, Lagos State.
The defendant was the subject of two exhibits and three prosecution witnesses who testified against him in court.
The victim (name withheld), who was the second prosecution witness, described the incident in detail, claiming that the defendant, whom she identified as Daddy Jamal, stuck his finger in her private area, causing her excruciating pain and causing her to sob.
According to her, her mother instructed her and her brother to go get water sometime in January 2018. Some of the water she was fetching spilled across her body. Their neighbor Adedayo approached her as she was cleaning her body and inquired about what had happened to her chest. She responded by saying that while going to get water, she got hurt.
She claims that Adedayo then allegedly asked her if she had taken care of her intimate area before sticking his finger inside of it. She declined his subsequent request to accompany her inside his room.
She claimed that once her neighbor became suspicious of her behavior, she had to tell them about the incident. As a result, her mother learned about the incident and informed the police, who then detained Adedayo.
The victim was truthful, clear-cut, and insisted that the defendant put his finger in her vagina despite the fact that she resisted him during cross-examination, according to Justice Soladoye.
The victim was checked by a doctor at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital after being referred to him by the Divisional Police Officer of Akinpelu Police Station, Oshodi, Lagos, according to the first prosecution witness, a doctor who goes by the name Dr. Alabi.
According to him, he noticed that the victim’s private part was reddened and bruised, adding that her hymen was almost obliterated. He said his findings concluded that the victim had suffered repeated penetration, adding that the victim could not have consented to any sexual act with the defendant.
While reading her judgement, Justice Soladoye said the evidence presented by the doctor was truthful, consistent and quite persuasive with no reexamination questions from the defense counsel.
The third prosecuting witness, Investigating Police Officer, Adebayo Eko, who served at Akinpelu Police Station in 2018, told the court that he obtained statements from the victim and the defendant, which were tabled as Exhibit A and B before the court.
While reading her judgement, Justice Soladoye said the defendant “denied assaulting the victim, that he met the victim and other kids playing in a manner that he considered rough. He cautioned them before going into his room with a friend and gave them some of the toys his own children play with. According to him, he was still in his room till evening and only went outside for a party when he noticed that the victim and her siblings were no longer outside.”
She stated that the evidence given by the defendant was only an afterthought to distance himself from being held accountable for his crime. She then rubbished the evidence given by the defendant’s sister whom she described as a tainted witness, saying she served a purpose which was to redeem the image of her brother.
“The defendant having been found guilty as charged for the offense of sexual assault by penetration contrary to Section 261 of the criminal law volume 3 laws of Lagos State 2015, is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge said.