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Summary
64-year-old Lateef Durojaiye has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl in Lagos.
Lateef Durojaiye, a 64-year-old man, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his neighbour’s 11-year-old daughter. The verdict was delivered on November 12 by Justice Rahman Oshodi at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court.
Lateef Durojaiye was initially arraigned on Dec. 6, 2019, at the Magistrate Court, Ikorodu, on a one-count charge of rape. He was later arraigned before the High Court on Aug. 5, 2021, on the same charge.
The case was later struck out on Nov. 29, 2021, for want of diligent prosecution and then relisted on May 22, 2022, when the defendant was re-arraigned. He pleaded not guilty to the charge brought against him.
Following an amended charge by the prosecution on Jan. 24, 2024, the defendant was re-arraigned on April 16, 2024, on a count of defilement. The prosecution counsel, B.T. Boye, I.D. Solarin and B.E. Okeowo called five witnesses: the survivor, the survivor’s mother, the Investigative Police Officer, Inspector Adeoye Fumilayo, Sherifat Bakare, and Dr Emmanuel Effiong.
The prosecution stated that on Nov. 30, 2019, while the survivor’s mother was away, the defendant who is a tenant and neighbour, entered her residence and raped the minor. The crime was discovered five days later when the survivor was seen limping, leading to a medical examination that confirmed injuries from forceful penetration, as testified by a doctor.
The prosecution presented a series of escalating incidents, beginning with the defendant showing the survivor pornographic content and asking if she could perform the act. The second incident involved the defendant sexually violating her and threatening to kill her if she reported it to her mother.
The survivor’s mother also stated that the defendant and his brothers came to plead with her to forget the case with N300,000.
According to the prosecution, the offence contravened Section 139 (1) of the Evidence Act and Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. Lateef Durojaiye was therefore sentenced to life imprisonment under Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Violence Agency Law, 2021. His name will be registered in the Sexual Offenders Register as Lagos State maintains.
“Justice has been served,” DSVA tweeted “Let’s continuously break the culture of silence Report any case of Domestic or Sexual Violence by calling our Toll Free Line – 08000-333-333.
