Former security guard receives life sentence for raping 13-year-old on Christmas Day

An Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced Olukayode Dayo, a former officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), to life imprisonment for rape.

The 39-year-old convict, who pleaded not guilty but asked the court for leniency, was arraigned on rape charges before Justice Lekan Olatawura on May 13, 2022.

The offence is said to have occurred on December 25, 2021 in Ado-Ekiti in contravention of Section 31(2) of the Child Rights Act, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

The victim was on her way home from an errand when the convict forcibly dragged her to a fenced, unfinished building to rape her.

“I screamed, but he didn’t listen to me. He took off my pants and started having sex with me. A passerby who heard my voice entered the area. He fled when he saw the man. The man chased him, but he couldn’t catch him. He came back and took me to my grandmother. He explained what had happened to her,” the victim is said to have told the police.

To prove his case, prosecutor Julius Ajibare called six witnesses and presented as evidence the defendant’s statement, photographs of the victim and a medical report.

The accused, who defended himself through his lawyer Oluwaseun Oyebanji, denied the offence but asked the court for mercy in the interests of justice.

Delivering judgment, Judge Lekan Olatawura said that in this case, the victim had consistently, clearly and unwaveringly stated that the accused, who was well known to her, was the person who raped her.

“All things considered, I find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the 13-year-old girl on December 25, 2021, and therefore find him guilty as charged.

“Based on the foregoing, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge ruled.

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