Lagos court sends Pastor to 25 years in prison, effective from December 2019 when he was remanded in custody
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
One Ndukwe Ogbu, 45, who claimed to be a Pastor, has been sentenced by a Lagos court to 25 years in prison for having sex with his own daughter multiple times when she was aged 14.
The child victim cannot be named because by law.
Judge Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of an Ikeja Special Offences Court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the three-count charge of defilement, sexual assault, and sexual assault by penetration against the convict.
She noted that Ogbu did not show remorse for the crime when he pleaded for mercy saying he has other children to care for.
Abike-Fadipe found him guilty of the three-count charge brought against him by the Lagos Government which produced the testimonies of a medical doctor and a social worker to corroborate the testimony of the victim survivor.
She ruled that “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.
“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.”
The convict was arraigned in February 2021 and the trial began on October 18 that year.
During trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and tendered exhibits, the convict testified as the sole defence witness.
First prosecution witness Femi Oyeleke, a social worker, told the court that he reported the case to the police.
The survivor and the medical doctor also testified against the convict.
In her testimony, the survivor:
- Identified the convict as her father and told the court that she was 14 years old when the abuse began.
- Said her father had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions and threatened her not to tell anybody.
- Said she later confided in her teacher in school who reported the case to the social worker.
Ogbu denied all the claims and maintained that he was not at home as claimed by his daughter.
He confirmed to the court that he lived in the same apartment as the survivor but she had her own separate room.
He said he lost his wife when the children were young, and the other children lived with their maternal grandmother in the village.
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