A Magistrates’ Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has ordered the remand of a 30-year-old painter, Sunday Ajibade, in Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly defiling a 14-year-old girl.
The Magistrate, Mrs M.O. Tanimola, ordered that the defendant be remanded, following the motion by the Prosecutor, ASP Victor Eruada, that the matter be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
The magistrate, who did not take the plea of the defendant, also directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send to the DPP for advice.
She adjourned the case until Jan. 14, 2021.
Earlier, the prosecutor told the court that the defendant, who resides at Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos, was being tried for defilement.
He said that the defendant committed the offence in November at his residence.
The prosecutor said that the defendant lured the girl from the shop she was learning tailoring into his room and had canal knowledge of her.
“The defendant called the teenager who is an apprentice to come and collect clothes to sow for him.
“When she entered his room, he bolted the door and pushed her on the bed.
‘The girl wanted to shout but he brought out a knife threatening to stab her if she dared shout.
“The defendant tore her pants and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that defilement violates Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which attracts life imprisonment if found guilty. (NAN)
