Court Sentence Teacher To Life Imprisonment For Sodomising Minor Student

Justice Abiola Soladoye of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, in Ikeja, has sentenced a teacher, Bright Emenugo to life imprisonment for having anal intercourse with an underage male student.

Justice Soladoye while delivering judgment held that the defendant was guilty of sodomy as charged by the state government.

The state government had alleged that his offence contravene the provision of Section 261 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.

The judge held that the state prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant, adding that the survivor in his evidence told the court that the defendant asked him to go to the toilet and wait for him.

The survivor who was 15 years old at the time he testified before the court, narrated that his teacher (defendant) pulled his pants down and penetrated his anus at the age of 14

His testimony was that his teacher (the convict), would threaten him with a bad grade in class if he refused to go to the toilet. While the survivor said he could not remember how many times testified that Emenugo molested him more than once.

Justice Soladoye held that the testimony of the survivor was truthful even during cross-examination as well as the evidence of the second prosecution witness, who is the survivor’s aunt.

The survivor’s aunt told the court that she had observed her nephew in pain which further corroborated the first witness statement.

So also, a doctor with the Mirabel Center, told the court that he examined the victim’s anus and confirmed there were signs of consistent penetration.

In his defence, the defendant denied the allegation in the charge against him, he claimed that he was arrested without knowing the reason. In his defence, Emenugo said he was taken away, beaten, and asked to tell the truth.

The defendant’s statement was tendered and admitted as evidence.

Justice Soladoye held that his statement did not hold up during cross-examination, noting that he was “untruthful and contradictory.”

Justice Soladoye, therefore, sentenced him to life imprisonment and ordered that Emenugo’s name should be added to the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register.

The judge said Emenugo’s conduct is immoral and callous, a disgrace to the teaching profession. She, therefore, admonished schools to speak up about abuse and report cases at the right quarters.