Court acquits man of defiling his 8-year- old stepdaughter

By
Man docked for absconding with N200, 000 loan

Justice Sybil Nwaka of an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, on Monday acquitted a  sales engineer, Happiness Essien, charged with defiling his 8-year-old child daughter (name withheld).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 31-year-old Essien, who has been remanded in prison since May 25, 2016, was acquitted of a one-count charge of defilement mainly due to the absence of the alleged victim to testify during the trial.

Setting Essien free, Justice Nwaka said: “I find the defendant not guilty of the offence of defilement or sexual assault, I set him free, he is thereby discharged and acquitted.

“It is the resolve of the state to ensure victory not only for the victim but also the defendant.”

Reacting to Essien’s acquittal,  Mr Babajide Boye, the lead state prosecutor, emphasized the importance of the testimonies of complainants in sexual and domestic violence in securing a conviction.

He said: “I will like to seize this opportunity to appeal to witnesses in sexual assault cases, particularly the complainants. We commend their prompt reaction in reporting sexual offences to the police.

“Our expectation from them is to ensure that they follow-up these cases to a logical conclusion by not shying away or allowing themselves to be cajoled or threatened from coming to court to give evidence in respect of their complaint.

“The production of and appearance of most victims of sexual assault cases are dependent on the complainants who are most likely the parents, guardians or custodians.

“We plead that they should encourage the victims to come out. The efforts of the state is to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book and this can only happen if there is cooperation between the victim, the complainant and the prosecution.

“Once again,  thank you My Lord for the well considered judgment,” he said.

READ ALSO: Driver sent to prison for defiling girl, 10
According the prosecution,  Essien, committed the offence on April 12, 2016 at 7.30 p.m. at his residence at No. 7, Olorunwa, Shasha -Akowonjo area of Lagos.

According to Boye, “The defendant defiled his 8-year-old stepdaughter.

“The crime was reported by the victim’s mother at Shasha police station, Lagos. She said that her husband, the defendant, has been having sex with her daughter.

“The complainant said that she detected it when air sounding bubbles was coming out from the victims vagina.

“She said after interrogating the victim, she confessed that her stepfather has been having sex with her.

“She said the daughter told her it started sometime in 2015 and that the defendant had had carnal knowledge of her on several occasions.”

During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses – the Investigating Police officer (IPO) and a medical doctor.

Essien, while testifying in his defence, however,  denied the allegations.

The offence, the prosecution said, contravened the provisions of Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 (Revised).

source:https://samueljackson12.blogspot.com/2019/04/court-acquits-man-of-defiling-his-8.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prostitution; Nigerian Women At Growing Risk From Human Traffickers In Germany.

By
Image
According to InfoMigrants, Nigerian women are at growing risk from traffickers in Germany who exploit and engage them in prostitution. Read the full report below by InfoMigrants. The new prostitute protection law in Germany was meant to identify victims of human trafficking – most of them migrant women. More than 18 months after the law came into effect, thousands continue to be targeted for exploitation, and the risk for Nigerian women seems to be increasing. There are campervans parked by the roadside. Some have hearts painted on them, one says “girls, girls” in red letters. It’s an easy matter for someone to stop for a quick transaction in one of these Love-Mobiles – sex with one of the “girls” in exchange for the going rate. Prostitution is mainly legal in Germany, as are these mobile brothels. But many of the women in the business – including those working from the Love-Mobiles – are victims of illegal human trafficking. Most of the women are from Eastern Europe or Nige...
Read more

FULL TEXT: A sacrifice for our new political order – Ezekwesili

By
Image
“When the ACPN leadership approached me in a series of visits to appeal that I run for office on their platform, the party appeared to be a good fit. It was founded by some disgruntled PDP members some years ago, but when its prime founder decided to return to the PDP, a core of its membership refused to move back with him. I was told that they stayed back because of their opposition to the ways of the PDP. Considering my vocal disapproval of the PDP and the APC, I admired the ACPN’s decision to stand firm and refusal to be co-opted.” It has been an interesting one week since I made the tough but necessary decision to suspend my campaign for the presidency. I have been truly overwhelmed by the reactions to my announcement from Nigerians. Even in airports outside the country as I travelled last week, Nigerians walked up to me with questions, concerns, encouragement, and motivation. I also saw disappointment by some who had poured their hearts and hopes into actualising our mission ...
Read more

Update On Slay Queen Who Was Stripped Naked And Tortured Over Missing Phone.

By
Image
The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olusegun Odumosu, 24 hours to unravel those behind the torture and insertion of pepper into a girl’s private part in Benin City over alleged stealing of a mobile phone.  Chairman of the platform and former Student Union President of the University of Benin, Mr. Abubakar Yesufu, who said this in a statement yesterday, also urged the state Director, Department of State Services, DSS, to be involved in the investigation. A video of the incident, seen by Vanguard yesterday, showed the girl being stripped naked by a group of people, who inserted pepper into her private parts for allegedly stealing a phone. The unidentified girl was heard crying and saying she didn’t steal any phone, while she was being humiliated by the crowd. Yesufu said: “The League of Patriotic Lawyers has given the Edo State Commissioner of Police 24 hours to arrest and commence prosecution of all the street urchins behind thi...
Read more