An Ogun State High Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment a retired soldier, Alabi Ibrahim for molesting and infecting his 10-year-old step-daughter with the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV).
Ibrahim, 63, had in 2012 committed the crime in his home where he lived with both the victim and her mother who was married to him.
The convict was arrested and arraigned for trial following the intervention of a non-governmental organization, Child Protection Network.
He was re-arraigned in court last week and remanded in prison custody.
During the ex-soldier’s trial under case number AB/37/C/14, a medical report issued by the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, and tendered in court established that the convict had segxwally assaulted the 10-year-old girl and also infected her with HIV.
The medical report tendered by Dr. Seyi Adejobi stated that after the victim was defiled, blood tests also revealed that she had been infected with HIV, just as the blood sample of the convict blood sample also tested positive to HIV.
Also during the trial, the victim told the court that she had lost count of the number of times her step-father slept with her, saying that at the end of every round of sex, the convict always threatened that she would die if she disclosed what had been going on between them to any other person.
Counsel to the convict, Adebola Okudoro, while pleading on behalf of his client told the court that the allegation against the ex-soldier was mere hearsay.
The counsel therefore appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy by being lenient with his client.
“My Lord, the accused person is a first offender. The health of the accused should be put into consideration. He is infected with HIV and will need access to medical attention, which is very expensive and there is no such facility in the prison. The accused person is the breadwinner of his family. He has several dependants. We pray the court to temper justice with mercy,” the counsel pleaded.
But while delivering his judgement, Justice Abiodun Akinyemi said the accused faced a one-count charge of having segxwal intercourse with the child.
Akinyemi said that the offence ran contrary to Section 3 of the Child Rights Law, noting that following the trial, the court was convinced that the accused committed the offence.
Akinyemi added further that the victim’s testimony during cross examination revealed that she told the truth and was not tutored, adding there was concrete evidence that the victim was segxwally assaulted on several occasions.
“The court is convinced about the girl’s evidence. She’s intelligent, she remained consistent during cross examination. She did not seem to have been tutored. I find her evidence credible. Evidence of her mother corroborated her own,” the judge stated.
Justice Akinyemi further averred that evidence from the medical report did not suggest that the girl had earlier been segxwally assaulted as claimed by the convict.
Justice Akinyemi also made reference to the medical report, which revealed that the accused infected the girl with HIV, stressing that the action of the convict had brought a permanent stigma on the innocent child.
The judge also nullified the argument that there was no eyewitness account on the segxwal allegation against the convict, pointing out that those who engaged in rape would never employ the services of a cameramen.
“I am fully convinced that the accused had repeatedly had sex with the girl. I found the accused guilty as charged. I find it not in my mind to show any mercy. The man is shameless, sleeping with mother and child. What an abomination! People like him need not be in society. I therefore sentence him to life imprisonment. He should, however, be given access to reasonable treatment,” Justice Akinyemi declared.
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