Truck driver sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and desecrating 10-year-old girl

The Lagos State Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court has sentenced Abdul Hudu, a 24-year-old commercial driver, to life in prison for defiling and abducting a 10-year-old girl (name anonymous).

Justice Rahman Oshodi found that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt the two counts of kidnapping and defilement against Mr Hudu.

The court sentenced the convict to two years imprisonment for the first charge, while he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the second charge.

Mr. Oshodi, in his judgment, said the facts of the case were distressing as Mr. Hudu cruelly abducted the 10-year-old survivor from the safety and care of her parents for three agonizing days.

“The complete disregard you showed for the welfare of a child, the emotional torment inflicted on her parents is shocking and worst of all, over the course of three days you repeatedly defiled and sexually assaulted this vulnerable young girl at the age of 10.

“Throughout this trial, you have shown no remorse for blatantly lying in your testimony, denying the clear evidence against you, including your earlier statement to police.

“The web of lies that you weaved to evade your responsibilities only aggravated your guilt,” the judge said.

Mr Oshodi considered that the fact that the convict was a first time offender did not detract from the scale of the offences.

“On the first charge, the offense of kidnapping contrary to article 141, I sentence you to two years of imprisonment, and this will begin on the date of your arrest, July 23, 2019, as indicated in the Exhibit A-A1.

“On the second charge, the offense of desecration contrary to Article 137, I sentence you to the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, and you will also be registered as a sex offender.

“The sentences must run concurrently; you will serve your custodial sentence at the maximum security detention center or wherever the Nigerian Correctional Service may direct you to do so,” Mr. Oshodi ruled.

The state's lead lawyer, Babajide Boye, called three witnesses: the survivor, her father and one Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a nurse with the Women at Risk International Foundation.

During the trial, the convicted person testified in his defense.

The prosecutor said the convict committed the offenses on June 30, 2019 at Adekunle Street, Idi Araba, Mushin, Lagos.

The prosecutor told the court that the survivor was returning from an errand in the night when the convict approached her.

He said the inmate hit her with an object and covered her face with something in a cloth, knocking her unconscious, and she then woke up in her room.

According to evidence presented in court, the convict had multiple illegal sexual intercourse with the survivor over three days in different locations.
places and then dropped her off near her home.

She told her father about the events, who took her to the hospital and the police station.

(NOPE)