An Ikeja special offences court in Lagos has sentenced Ndukwe Ogbu, a 45-year-old pastor, to 25 years imprisonment for raping his 14-year-old daughter.
On Monday, Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe, the trial judge, convicted Ogbu for a three-count charge of sexual assault, defilement, and sexual assault by penetration.In her judgment, Abike-Fadipe ruled that the prosecutor proved the charges beyond reasonable doubt.According to NAN, the judge said Ogbu showed no remorse for the crime while pleading with the court to temper justice with mercy because he had other children to care for.
Abike-Fadipe said the testimonies of the medical doctor and social worker corroborated that of the survivor.
The judge sentenced the cleric to three years imprisonment for count one, and 25 years imprisonment for each of counts two and three.
“Based on the evidence presented before the court, the defendant is found guilty on all three counts. He is sentenced to three years on count one,” the judge said.
“On counts two and three, he is sentenced to 25 years each. The sentences shall run concurrently and will be effective from December 2019, when he was remanded in custody.”
Ogbu was arraigned in February 2021 while the trial commenced in October 2021. During the trial, the prosecution presented three witnesses and tendered exhibits, while the convict testified as the sole defence witness.
In her testimony, the survivor told the court that Ogbu, her father, started molesting her when she was 14 years old.
She told the court that Ogbu had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions and threatened her not to tell anybody.
The survivor said she later confided in her teacher in school who reported the case to the social worker.
However, the defendant denied all the claims and insisted that he lived in the same apartment as the survivor, but she had her own room.
Ogbu said his wife died when the children were little, and the rest stayed in the village with their grandmother on their mother’s side.
