An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State has ordered that a 35-year-old waiter, Tola Adeniji, be remanded in a correctional centre for allegedly defiling a seven-year-old girl.
The police charged Adeniji, who resides in Orile-Agege, Lagos State, with a one count charge of defilement on Friday.
Magistrate Folashade Oshikoya, who did not take the plea of Adeniji, ordered that he should be remanded in Kirikri Correctional Centre.
Oshikoya directed the police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions for advice.
She adjourned the case until February 15 for the DPP’s advice.
Earlier, the Prosecution Counsel, ASP Victor Eruada, told the court that the suspect committed the offence on January 4 in a church located at 8, Jinadu Street, Orile-Agege, Lagos.
Eruada said: “Adeniji, who was in the church, sighted the girl opposite the church, called her into the church locked the doors and defiled her.”
The offence, he said, contravened the provisions of  Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the section prescribes life imprisonment for defilement.