News
School bus driver bags life jail for defiling 3-year-old girl in Lagos
School bus driver bags life jail for defiling 3-year-old girl in Lagos
In Lagos State, one Michael Mowete has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling a three-year-old child.
Mowete, a school bus driver, was convicted and sentenced by the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, in Lagos.
The presiding judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, sentenced him after finding him guilty of the charge against him.
Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution was able to prove the charge of defilement against Mowete beyond reasonable doubt.
He said that the convict’s claim of having an affair with the mother of the victim in her shop was flimsy as one of the defence witnesses, the school bus assistant, told the court that the convict was always in the bus whenever they dropped off the victim at her mother’s shop.
According to the judge, the prosecution gave direct evidence as the survivor, despite her age, narrated to the court how the convict defiled her.
The judge said the evidence of the survivor was corroborated with the mother’s and the medical examination evidence, while the investigative police officer gave circumstantial evidence in the case.
Oshodi said: “The mother of the prosecutrix (survivor), in her evidence, said that on September 27, 2019, the school bus driver dropped her daughter off and her daughter told her, ‘Mummy! mummy! Uncle Michael touched my bum bum and jumped on me.’
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“The mother said she thought it was just an ordinary touch until she wanted to bathe her daughter at night, and she started shouting when water touched her private parts.
“Despite the prosecutrix’s age, she demonstrated to the court, repeated how the convict defiled her and said in her evidence, ‘Uncle Michael touched my bum bum and he jumped on me.’
“The defence, in its final written address, argued that the prosecutrix was coached, but the evidence before this court does not show this as the convict in his evidence said that he was alone with the prosecutrix on the day of the incident and this also corroborated the evidence of the mother that on September 27, 2019, the driver solely brought her child home at 6.00 p.m. as against the 3.00 p.m. which she usually returned home.”
The judge further stated that the medical examination revealed recently repeated blunt force penetration of the vagina.
He also said that the convict’s reliance on the MTN call log as a means of sexual communication between himself and the survivor’s mother could not be established because no evidence was produced in regard to the call log conversation.
The judge asserted that the amorous relationship between the convict and the survivor’s mother was a lie, and even if it was true, it did not invalidate the fact that the prosecution had established the charge of defilement against him.
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He said: “Exihibit P6A and P6B indicted the convict as he also confirmed in his extrajudicial statement that he was the only one with the prosecutrix in the school bus on the said date.
“It is evident that Mowete forcefully touched the prosecutrix with his hand and penis.
“The totality of the evidence, prosecutrix evidence, corroborates the mother’s evidence and that of the medical report also, the circumstantial evidence of the police showed that Mowete committed the offence.
“The prosecution has discharged the burden of proof against Mowete, and he is hereby convicted under Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State (2015).”
Oshodi consequently sentenced Mowete to life imprisonment and ordered that his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
He said, “Michael Mowete, this court has found you guilty of the charge of defilement.
“You have defiled a child, barely three years of age, and you attempted to traumatise her family by fabricating that you had an amorous relationship with her mother.
“The mother of the child told this court that urine comes out of her daughter’s vagina every 15 to 30 minutes, and this shows how far damage you have done to the child.
“You are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment, and you shall serve the remainder of your term in the Maximum Correctional Centre.”
The State Counsel, Mr Babajide Boye, called four witnesses during the trial, while the defence also called four witnesses.
The prosecution told the court that the convict committed the offence on September 27, 2010, on Okeho Street, Isolo and Lukmon Street, Ago, Okota, Lagos.
School bus driver bags life jail for defiling 3-year-old girl in Lagos
News
FG Targets 95% NIN Coverage by December 2026
FG Targets 95% NIN Coverage by December 2026
The Federal Government is targeting 95 per cent National Identification Number (NIN) coverage nationwide by December 2026 as it expands Nigeria’s digital identity system.
President Bola Tinubu announced the target during the 2026 National Identity Day celebration in Abuja, where he was represented by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila.
The President said NIN enrolment had risen to about 142 million, up from more than 80 million recorded when his administration came into office.
To reach the new target, the government plans to expand registration through ward-level enrolment, mobile registration initiatives and licensed agents. Reports from the event said free enrolment is being extended to all 8,809 wards across the country.
Identity System for Digital Economy
Tinubu said the government wants to build an identity infrastructure that can support Nigeria’s growing digital economy.
He said a secure national identity could make it easier to access services while supporting areas such as digital banking, healthcare, transportation and government programmes.
The President also said the expansion must go hand in hand with safeguards for citizens’ privacy and dignity.
Beyond enrolment numbers, he said the government was working towards a more connected digital public system, including electronic health records, e-transport services and a more coordinated national data architecture.
The NIMC’s ongoing expansion therefore aims not only to register more Nigerians and legal residents, but also to make the identity system a key part of how people access digital and public services.
FG Targets 95% NIN Coverage by December 2026
Education
25 Universities, Teaching Hospitals Get Solar Power Under REA Programme
25 Universities, Teaching Hospitals Get Solar Power Under REA Programme
Twenty-five federal tertiary institutions have been connected to solar electricity under the Rural Electrification Agency’s (REA) Energizing Education Programme.
The REA Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this during the commissioning of a 3MW captive solar hybrid power project at Yakubu Gowon University, Abuja.
According to Aliyu, the programme covers 22 federal universities and three affiliated teaching hospitals and has deployed more than 100MW of clean energy.
He said the initiative now benefits over 300,000 students and 50,000 academic and administrative staff.
Aliyu added that the new 3MW facility would power key university facilities, including lecture halls, laboratories, ICT systems, administrative buildings and campus lighting.
Meanwhile, Minister of Power Joseph O. Tegbe said reliable electricity was essential to supporting teaching, research, healthcare and digital services in universities.
He stressed that the long-term performance of the solar projects would be more important than their commissioning.
Vice-Chancellor of Yakubu Gowon University, Prof. Hakeem Babatunde Fawehinmi, also said dependable electricity was critical to the institution’s academic and research activities.
25 Universities, Teaching Hospitals Get Solar Power Under REA Programme
News
OAU Investigates Death of Final-Year Student as Police Begin Probe
OAU Investigates Death of Final-Year Student as Police Begin Probe
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, is investigating the death of a final-year student of the institution.
The student, Oluwole Oluwosegun, was studying Materials Science and Engineering at the university.
According to the university’s Public Relations Officer, Olarewaju Abiodun, the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon at the student’s off-campus residence around the Damico area of Ooni Layout, Ile-Ife.
After receiving the report, the university’s Quick Response and Security (QRS) Team went to the location. The team also contacted the Nigeria Police, after which officers from the ‘A’ Division in Moore, Ile-Ife, joined them at the scene.
The university later took the student to its Health Centre, where a medical doctor confirmed his death.
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Police Begin Investigation
Following the incident, university authorities handed relevant information and items recovered from the scene to the police to support their investigation.
The police have since begun inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
Meanwhile, the university said it had informed the appropriate student affairs authorities to provide necessary follow-up, particularly regarding the welfare and emotional support of students affected by the incident.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Simeon Bamire also expressed condolences to the student’s family, friends, classmates and colleagues.
The university further encouraged students facing severe emotional distress, relationship difficulties, financial pressure or other personal challenges to seek help from trusted people and available university support services.
Professor Bamire reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to the welfare of its students and staff, stressing that no student should feel they must face overwhelming difficulties alone.
OAU Investigates Death of Final-Year Student as Police Begin Probe
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