metro
Father bags life sentence for defiling, impregnating teenage daughter
A 42-year-old father, Ekpo Lawrence, was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment without an option of fine by an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court for defiling and impregnating his 15-year-old daughter.
Justice Abiola Soladoye said the prosecution proved the ingredients of the charge of defilement proffered against Lawrence.
The suspect was charged to court by the Lagos State Government.
Commending the prosecution, the judge said the evidence cited by the prosecution had been consistent, while that of the defendant had been inconsistent and manifestly unreliable.
Soladoye in the judgment noted that Lawrence’s denial of the allegations amounted to calculated attempt to mislead the court.
She said: “The inglorious conduct of this defendant is dirty, scandalous and unpardonable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 and condemnable in all ramifications.
“The immoral behaviour of having sex with his own biological daughter is toxic, absolutely disgraceful and an abomination contrary to the law of nature. It is morally reprehensible as it is incest.
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“Where is the self respect of this defendant?
“How absolutely bizarre.
“Having sex with his daughter obviously took away his ability to make rational decisions.
“He foolishly tampered with the purity and self esteem of his child.”
Soladoye prayed for inner peace for the victim to relieve her of fear and hatred for her father, who sexually molested her severally, so that she could deal with her pains, trials and tribulations and go on to live a purpose driven life.
He said: “A father should be a trusted person in the life of a child. He is supposed to keep his child safe but betrayed her sexually; he ripped purity off her body and her soul.
“This is a taboo and he must no doubt face the music for his morbid, sordid sexual misconduct.
“For the above stated reasons, the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment with no option of fine.
“He is to have his name registered in the Sex Offenders Register as maintained by the Lagos State Government.”
According to prosecution, led by Bola Akinsete, Lawrence committed the offence between December 2018 and June 2019 at his home in Agege, Lagos.
He was 39 years old when the offence was committed.
“He defiled his 15-year-old daughter by having unlawful sexual intercourse with her,” Akinsete said.
During, the trial four witnesses: the survivor, a medical doctor, a social worker and police officer, testified for the prosecution while Lawrence testified solely in his defence.
The survivor, who was 17 years old when she gave her evidence in court, said her father had on numerous occasions defiled her whenever her stepmother traveled.
She said the incest came to light when the she confided in a social worker in her school about her father’s actions.
Dr. Maria Fadaka of Mirabel Centre, a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, in her evidence, said after examining the survivor, her findings had revealed evidence of vaginal penetration and early pregnancy.
Lawrence in his defence had denied having sexual intercourse with his child claiming he was at work when the defilements allegedly took place.
The Eagle
metro
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
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“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
metro
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
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“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
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