An Ado-Ekiti High Court on Wednesday sentenced a local government employee in Ekiti State, Ojo Ayodele, to life imprisonment for raping a minor.
Ayodele was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl in Ijero Ekiti.
The convict was said to have abducted the minor in the town and taken her to a secret location in the town where he subjected her to continuous sexual assault for 21 days.
Delivering her judgement, Justice Oluwatoyin Abodunde, found Ayodele guilty as charged and sentenced him to life imprisonment for raping the girl.
During the trial, the Director of Public Prosecution, Gbemiga Adaramola, prosecuted the case on behalf of the state while the convict was represented by his counsel, Tosin Osundahunsi.
The trial began on February 2, 2016, when Ayodele was brought to court on two counts of rape and abduction.
The prosecution called seven witnesses during the trial and tendered exhibits which include statements of the victim and the convict, medical report which established the rape, among others.
The convict did not call any witness apart from himself in the course of the trial.
A good Samaritan who saw bloodstains on the victim’s clothes after her ordeal had taken her to the Ijero Local Government Immigration office to report the case.
Ayodele was subsequently caught and arrested by immigration officers at the council secretariat as the victim identified him there as her abductor.
The immigration officers handed him to policemen at the Ijero Police Station where the case was reported.
The victim was living with her stepmother after her father and mother got divorced with the latter relocating to Port Harcourt.
She was said to have fled home allegedly due to her maltreatment by her stepmother after which she met Ayodele who promised to take care of her.
