An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division on Tuesday sentenced two men, Anu Olaniyi and Abidemi Alibaloye, to two years imprisonment each for gang-raping a 13-year-old girl.
The convicts, who committed the offences on December 28, 2020, were arraigned in court on the charges of conspiracy and gang-rape.
During the hearing, the victim told the court, “I was sent on an errand on December 28, 2020, when one of the convicts intercepted me and purposely directed me to his friend’s place where they both forcibly had carnal knowledge of me one after the other.”
The victim, who said she went home teary-eyed and informed her mother of what had happened, said, “I was able to recognise both convicts and they were later arrested and charged to court.”
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Julius Ajibare, who prosecuted the case for the Ekiti State Government, said the offences committed were “contrary to Section 421 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021 and Section 2(2)(c) of the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) (First Amendment) Law, 2020.”
Ajibare called four witnesses and tendered seven exhibits in support of his case.
But the defendants, who spoke through their counsel, Oluwafemi Alonge, gave evidence in their defence and called no witnesses.
In the judgement, Justice Adekunle Adeleye held that “the prosecution proved the offence of gang-rape and conspiracy against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.”
The judge consequently convicted the defendants and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment for gang-rape and two years imprisonment for conspiracy.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
