Teacher Jailed for Life Over Defilement of 8-Year-Old Pupil in Lagos

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former teacher, Nwatu Isaac, to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday, found Isaac guilty of sexually assaulting the pupil in the school’s male toilet on March 10, 2022.

The judge held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, establishing that the victim was a child and that Isaac had sexual intercourse with her.

The court also ordered that Isaac’s name be entered in the Sex Offenders Register in accordance with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law 2021.

Isaac was prosecuted under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which provides life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.

During the trial, Isaac denied entering the school premises beyond the gate on the day of the incident. He claimed he only went to the school to pick up pupils he transported on his motorcycle.

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Justice Oshodi, however, rejected the claim, noting that Isaac’s own evidence placed him at the school at the material time, while the victim identified him as the person who took her into the toilet.

The judge also dismissed Isaac’s alibi defence, holding that he had not claimed to have been somewhere else when the offence occurred.

According to the court, the victim, who was nine years old when she testified, gave a clear and consistent account of how Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac”, took her into the toilet and sexually assaulted her.

Justice Oshodi said her testimony remained consistent despite extensive cross-examination and that she identified Isaac in court.

The court further found corroboration in the evidence of the girl’s mother, who testified that she noticed blood on her daughter’s underwear and vagina after she returned from school.

A medical doctor who examined the girl at the Mirabel Centre also gave evidence which the judge said was consistent with penile penetration.

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Justice Oshodi rejected the defence argument that the absence of DNA or sperm testing weakened the prosecution’s case, holding that the medical findings sufficiently corroborated the evidence of penetration.

The judge also dismissed suggestions that the child could have been abused by her stepsister, describing the claim as speculative.

The court equally rejected an audio recording tendered by the defence, in which a teacher claimed the girl later described the incident as a dream.

Justice Oshodi noted that the teacher had initially responded negatively when the child reported the incident and continued questioning her until she denied it. The judge therefore held that the subsequent denial could not be regarded as free or reliable.

The court also dismissed a survey report intended to show that the school toilet was too small for the alleged offence to have occurred there.

Justice Oshodi noted that the survey was conducted more than three years after the incident and that the surveyor could not establish whether the toilet measured was the same one referred to in the allegation.

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The judge further rejected the defence claim that the prosecution was motivated by tribal sentiment, noting that there was no evidence of previous hostility between Isaac and the victim’s family.

In sentencing, Justice Oshodi said Isaac had abused the trust placed in him by the child, her family and members of the community.

The judge noted that Isaac was previously the girl’s teacher and also transported children on his motorcycle, adding that he exploited the trust placed in him to lure the pupil into the toilet.

Justice Oshodi said the court had a duty to protect children and ensure that sexual abuse against minors attracted the full force of the law.

The court consequently sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment and ordered that his name be entered in the Sex Offenders Register.

The judge also directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law 2022 to secure any protection and support required by the victim and her family.

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The order followed a complaint by the victim’s mother that staff of the school had allegedly continued to intimidate her and her daughter in Epe. The judge, however, stressed that the court made no finding on the complaint.

The prosecution was led by Inumidun Solarin, assisted by B.E. Okeowo and I.E. Balogun, while Anthony O. Agadah represented Isaac. E.I. Ukpabio held a watching brief for the nominal complainant.