Admin l Wednesday, April 06, 2022
LAGOS, Nigeria – An Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced a man, Collins Okechukwu, to life imprisonment for raping and robbing 25-year-old student (name withheld) in school campus.
Justice Abiola Soladoye described Okechukwu in her judgment as a “pathological liar” noting that the prosecution proved the charge of defilement against the convict beyond reasonable doubt.
“The testimony of the defendant portrayed him as a pathological liar in the sense that the University of Lagos (Unilag) Guest House was fully booked and the survivor was sex starved which made them had sex on bare floor. This is unbelievable and watery as there is no consent where force is used to have sex. The defendant lured the survivor into the Admin block, brought out a pistol, robbed her of valuables and raped her thereafter. The evidence of the defendant to have met the survivor at the Guest House and agreed to have sex with him was consistently laced with irregularities and found unreliable.
“The defendant is found guilty as charged of the two offenses and thereby sentenced to life imprisonment in respect to rape and 21 years jail term for robbery. The sentence shall run concurrently. He should have his name entered in the Sex Offenders Register of the Lagos State Government,” she said.
Sholadoye, in her judgment, cautioned female students in tertiary institution to be very discerning in giving out their numbers to strangers. She said ” what manner of a woman is the victim herself? she should desist from giving out her numbers for unnecessary frolicking,”
Four witnesses and three exhibits were tendered during the trial. According to the Lagos State prosecution counsel, Mr Peter Owolabani, the defendant the offense on Dec. 17 2017 at 9.00 p.m. Behind the Faculty of Arts Building, University of Lagos. The prosecutor said the defendant lured the survivor behind the building after they had lodged in the Guest House and raped her.
He said the defendant also robbed the survivor of his phones, money and gold chain. M He further submitted that the survivor, who later met the defendant a year after the incident, invited him to her “supposed birthday party” and got him arrested.
