- 71-year-old Adeola was convicted and sentenced by an Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division
In Ekiti State, one Sule Adeola has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling a 10-year-old girl
71-year-old Adeola was convicted and sentenced by an Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division.
The defendant was arraigned on June 22, 2023, on one count charge of rape.
The charge read, “That Sule Adeola on June 2, 2023, at the Federal Housing Estate in Ado Ekiti did rape a 10-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(1) of the Child Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”
The 10-year-old victim living with her grandmother had said the defendant, who was her grandmother’s neighbour, sexually assaulted her between 2021 and 2023, but she did not tell her grandmother initially because the defendant had promised to kill her.
To prove his case, the prosecutor, Julius Ajibare, called four witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statement and medical report as exhibits.
In the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Blessing Ajileye bemoaned the spate of rape and sexual assault.
She averred that the prosecution was able to prove the case of rape against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
She said “It is unfortunate and saddening that recorded cases of intimate persons’ sexual assault hit new heights every day.
“From the totality of evidence on record, I am more persuaded by the prosecution’s evidence that there was proof of penetration, there is no scintilla of evidence available to the contrary. In all, I found that the prosecution proved the most essential ingredient of rape i.e. penetration. The defendant penetrated the vagina of the victim and I so hold.
“The defendant, Sule Adeola, is found guilty of the offence of rape of a 10-year-old girl as charged. He is, accordingly, sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge pronounced