Pascal Arogorn Ibe
A High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital, has sentenced a middle-aged man, Kolawole Apoti, to life imprisonment for having carnal knowledge of his teenage niece and three other underage girls.
Apoti was said to have lured his niece, and other girls to his residence where he forcefully had carnal knowledge of the girls, going them N100 each.
The convict was said to have been having sex with his niece for a long time before she started luring other victims who are students of St Michael Catholic High School, Akure to his house.
Apoti illicit affairs with the teenagers were exposed when the girls fought over the money given to them by Apoti which led to their summon by the school principal who discovered the young girls’ escapades.
One of the victims in her statement during the trial said, “The man struggled with me to remove my pant. He slept with me and penetrated into my private part. Something like water came out which he used red cloth to clean up.
“Thereafter, the man gave me N100 and warned me not to tell my parent otherwise I would die. I forgot a pair of my stock in his room. when I went back for it, he slept with me again.”
The prosecution led by Bunmi Koyenikan called four witnesses including Vice-Principal, Administration of St. Michael Catholic High School, Mrs Ayibiowu Caroline Oluwatomisin, in the course of the trial.
The girls said they did not tell their parents about the incident over the fear of death threat by the accused person.
Kolawole denied the allegation of unlawful sexual intercourse but said the girls consented to the sexual intercourse after which he gave them money.
But the court held that the prosecution proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the girls who are children.
The trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Akeredolu, found the accused guilty as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
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