An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Lagos State has sentenced two men: Chukwuka Odinaka and Ikechukwu Eze, to 10 years imprisonment each for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy (name withheld).
Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced the two accused persons on Wednesday following their plea bargain agreement.
They had pleaded guilty to an amended two-count charge of indecent treatment and sexual assault.
In his judgment, Oshodi said he had carefully considered the plea and sentencing agreements entered by the parties under Sections 75 and 76 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2015.
He said: “I have listened attentively to the remarks during the sentencing hearing.
“It is noteworthy that the original charges against the convicts were for sexual assault by penetration, contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law.
“This offence carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, because the gravity of the original offence cannot be understated.
“As the prosecution explained during sentencing, sexual offences against children are amongst the most serious crimes that come before the courts, representing profound violations of trust and causing potentially lifelong harm to the victims.
“The defendants having been convicted of the two offences, are hereby sentenced to seven years imprisonment for indecent treatment of a child and three years for sexual assault.”
Oshodi further held that the sentences should run consecutively and ordered that the names of the convicts be registered in the sexual offences register of Lagos State Government.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the convict were initially arraigned on November 23, 2022 on a one-count charge of sexual assault by penetration and they pleaded not guilty.
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During trial, the state counsel, Inumidun Solarin, submitted that the convicts sexually penetrated the anus of the 16-year-old boy, sometime in 2020.
The prosecution called two witnesses: brother of the survivor and a nurse from Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), to support its case.
The prosecution also tendered Exhibits A to A7 and closed its case, but the convicts made no-case submissions.
However, on April 15, the prosecution informed the court that the convicts had, through their counsel, Tolulope Banjo, entered a plea and sentencing agreement.
The plea bargain agreement necessitated amending the charge to indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault.
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