An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Wednesday sentenced a security guard, Emmanuel Buchi, to life imprisonment for raping a 37-year-old nurse (name withheld) in a school clinic.
Buchi and the nurse were employees of Greensprings School, Awoyaya, Ibeju-Lekki, where the incident occurred on Nov. 27, 2021.
Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the Lagos State Government had successfully proved the charges of rape and assault occasioning harm against the convict.
Oshodi described Buchi as a pathological liar whose attempt to deviate from the offences he committed did not hold water.
According to the judge, the convict showed no remorse for his actions, as he continued to maintain that the survivor (prosecutrix) consented to sexual intercourse with him.
He noted that the sentence for rape was a mandatory life imprisonment prescribed by law, reflecting society’s condemnation of the crime.
The judge further said that the circumstances of the case were deeply troubling, as the convict threatened the prosecutrix while raping her in the school clinic.
Oshodi said the evidence of the prosecutrix was corroborated by two other prosecution witnesses.
He stated that the evidence of the prosecutrix was clear, consistent, credible and convincing, while that of the convict was unreliable and tainted with lies.
He said: “You were employed as a security guard at Greensprings School, Awoyaya, and your duties were to protect lives and property.
“Instead of protecting the prosecutrix, you became her assailant by abandoning your duty post on the night of Nov. 27, 2021.
“You entered the school clinic, where you had no authorisation to be, and raped her while she was alone on duty that night.”
The judge added that the evidence showed the convict used force and violence against the prosecutrix by pressing her hands down, grabbing her legs, and using his security boots to stamp on her legs.
He said the medical examination showed black discolouration on her left eye and bruises on the inner part of her vagina.
The court noted that, in his extra-judicial statement to the police, the convict wrote that the prosecutrix told him, “Leave me now.”
The convict admitted under cross-examination that he interpreted her refusal to mean consent.
The court further held that the convict fabricated a defence by claiming that the prosecutrix was his girlfriend, a claim contradicted by his statement to the police.
Oshodi said: “Throughout this trial, you have shown no understanding of the gravity of your actions or the harm you have caused.
“Beyond the physical injuries, the prosecutrix will carry the psychological scars of that violation.
“Consequently, you are sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and three years’ imprisonment for assault occasioning harm.”
The court held that the sentences would run concurrently and ordered that the convict’s name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
The State Lead Counsel, Mr Babajide Boye, called three witnesses, through whom compelling evidence and exhibits were tendered, while the convict testified as the sole witness for the defence.
The prosecutrix had earlier testified that she resumed night duty on the day of the incident when the convict approached her at the school clinic for vitamin C.
She said the convict returned to the clinic a few minutes later after switching off the light and raped her.
According to the prosecution, the offences contravene Sections 173 and 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN)
