Former NSCDC official receives life sentence for raping a minor

A former officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Olukayode Dayo, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for rape.

The 39-year-old convict was arraigned on May 13, 2022 before Justice Lekan Olatawura of the Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti on one count bordering on rape.

The charge states that Olukayode Dayo raped a 13-year-old girl (name withheld) on December 25, 2021, in Ado-Ekiti within the jurisdiction of the Ado-Ekiti High Court.

According to the prosecution, the offence contravenes Section 31(2) of the Child Rights Act, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

In his statement to the police, the victim said: “I was living with my grandmother and was sent home to fetch bananas and kola nut. On my way home, a man named Olukay (the accused) came towards me on his motorcycle, dropped the banana and kola nut on my head and carried me to a fenced, unfinished building.

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“I screamed, but he didn’t listen to me. He took off my pants and started having sex with me. A passerby who heard my voice came to the premises. He chased the man down and confronted him. The man chased him, but he couldn’t catch him. He came back and took me to my grandmother. He explained to her what had happened to her,” she concluded.

To prove his case, prosecutor Julius Ajibare called six witnesses and presented as evidence the defendant’s statement, photographs of the victim and a medical report.

The accused, who appeared in his defence through his lawyer Oluwaseun Oyebanji, denied committing the offence but pleaded with the court for mercy and did not call any witnesses.

Delivering judgment, Judge Lekan Olatawura said that in this case, the victim had consistently, clearly and unwaveringly stated that the accused, who was well known to her, was the person who raped her.

“All things considered, I find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the 13-year-old girl on December 25, 2021, and for that reason, I find him guilty as charged.

“For the above, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment,” the judge decided.