By SCM Reporter
An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday sentenced a civil servant, working in LASACO, Adio Serious, to seven years imprisonment for indecently treating his 15-year-old daughter.
The convict, an employee of LASACO Assurance Plc, was found guilty of stripping his biological daughter naked and touching her private parts between 2018 and January 2020 at the Ahmadiya Bus Stop area of Abule-Egba, Lagos.
Delivering judgment, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that the prosecution successfully proved the charge of indecent treatment of a child against the convict, which contravenes Section 135 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted Serious of a separate count of defilement.
Justice Oshodi noted that there were significant inconsistencies in the testimony of the survivor. The court heard that the teenager initially claimed her father had sexual intercourse with her, but later recanted during cross-examination, claiming she fabricated the story.
Following the U-turn, the prosecution declared the survivor a hostile witness during the trial. The teenager later claimed she lied about the defilement to ensure her father stopped beating her and to get authorities to scold him.
The judge stated that the court could not rely on the survivor’s conflicting statements due to her demeanor and suspected external family or economic pressures.
He added that the defendant had also consistently denied the defilement charge in both his extra-judicial statement and during his trial testimony.
While Serious was cleared of defilement, Justice Oshodi maintained that the evidence firmly established the charge of indecent treatment.
The judge remarked that the only mitigating factor in the case was the convict’s lack of previous criminal records. He, however, stressed that this was substantially outweighed by the aggravating nature of the crime committed against his own daughter.
“You have been convicted of this offence. I have considered your statement and plea for leniency,” Justice Oshodi said. “The maximum sentence prescribed is seven years. Such conduct against your biological daughter is not tolerated in any part of Nigeria.”
The court further held that the convict lied repeatedly during the trial and falsely claimed that the police compelled him to make incriminating statements.
Emphasising that the prevalence of sexual abuse in Lagos State necessitates firm judicial responses to protect vulnerable children, Justice Oshodi ruled: “Accordingly, I sentence you to seven years imprisonment.
The sentence shall commence from July 4, 2022, and you shall be registered as a sex offender.”
During the trial, the State Counsel, Miss Bukola Okeowo, called two witnesses, including the survivor and a medical doctor, and tendered three documentary exhibits. The convict testified as the sole witness in his own defence.
