Lagos court sentences former teacher to life in prison for child defilement

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced former teacher Nwatu Isaac to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School, Epe. Justice Rahman Oshodi, delivering judgment on Tuesday, found Isaac guilty of having unlawful sexual intercourse with the child on March 10, 2022. The judge said the prosecution had proved the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also ordered that Isaac’s name be entered in the Sex Offenders Register under 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 for life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child. Oshodi rejected Isaac’s claim that he remained outside the school gate while visiting to collect pupils he transported on his motorcycle.

The judge said Isaac’s own evidence placed him at the school and that the victim identified him as the person who took her to the toilet. The judge described the girl’s evidence as clear, detailed and consistent. Her account was supported by testimony from her mother, who said she observed blood on the child’s underwear and vagina after she returned from school, and by medical evidence indicating penetration.

The court rejected defence arguments concerning the absence of DNA testing, a possible assault by the child’s stepsister, an audio recording in which she later described the incident as a dream, and a survey intended to show that the toilet was too small. Oshodi said the audio statement was not reliable because a teacher had questioned the girl after she initially reported the allegation. During sentencing, the judge said Isaac had abused the trust placed in him as the child’s teacher and motorcycle transporter.

He directed the prosecution to take steps to secure protection and support for the victim and her family.