An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Wednesday, remanded a 30-year-old trader, Monday Daniel, accused of defiling a 12-year-old girl. The Magistrate, Ejiro Kubeinje, who did not take the defendant’s plea, ordered that he should be remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
Kubeinje, however, directed the Police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice. She adjourned the case until Jan. 25, 2022 for the outcome of the DPP’s advice.
The police arraigned Daniel, who resides in Agege, Lagos State, with a charge of defilement. The Prosecution Counsel, ASP. Bisi Ogunleye told the court that the defendant committed the offence on Oct.9 at his residence.
“He had sexual intercourse with the girl and begged her not to tell anyone. The girl, however, narrated to her mother how the defendant forcefully had sex with her. The case was reported at the police station and the defendant was arrested,” the prosecutor said.
The alleged offence violates Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the section prescribes life imprisonment for defilement.