An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, on Tuesday sentenced two men, Anu Olaniyi and Abidemi Alibaloye, to life imprisonment for gang-raping a 13-year-old girl.
The convicts, who committed the offences on 28th December 2020, were arraigned in court on the charges of conspiracy and gang rape.
During the hearing, the victim told the court how one of the convicts lured her to his friend’s place where they raped her.
“I was sent on an errand on 28th December 2020 when one of the convicts intercepted me and purposely directed me to his friend’s place where they both forcibly had carnal knowledge of me one after the other,” she said.
“I was able to recognise both convicts and they were later arrested and charged to court.”
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Julius Ajibare, said that the offences committed were “contrary to Section 421 of the Criminal Law of Ekiti State, 2021 and Section 2(2)(c) of the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) (First Amendment) Law, 2020.”
Ajibare called four witnesses and tendered seven exhibits in support of his case.
But the defendants, who spoke through their counsel, Oluwafemi Alonge, gave evidence in their defence and called no witnesses.
In the judgement, Justice Adekunle Adeleye held that “the prosecution proved the offence of gang rape and conspiracy against the defendants beyond reasonable doubt”.
The judge consequently convicted the defendants and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment for gang rape and two years imprisonment for conspiracy.
