Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sentenced Olawale Olarewaju, a security guard, to life in prison for sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl on Monday.
The judge also chastised the Ikoyi Custodial Centre for lapses and delays in bringing the security guard, who had been in jail detention for eight years, to court.
Justice Oshodi ruled that the matter was dismissed for want of diligent prosecution by Justice Sybil Nwaka (retd) because the correctional center failed to produce him for arraignment between 2016 and 2019, notwithstanding the issue of a reproduction warrant.
He said: “The defendant was in the Ikoyi Custodial Centre and remained there for about eight years from the day of his remand until he was produced before me on January 3, 2023, for arraignment.
“The proceedings demonstrated gaps in the operation of the Nigeria Correctional Service.
“It is mind-boggling to hear that the defendant has been in the Ikoyi Custodial Center since 2016 but was brought to court for the first time in 2023.
“The correctional center was directly responsible for the defendant’s long period of awaiting trial, and this is appalling.”
Oshodi stated that the survivor’s testimony was consistent with that of her father, who was Prosecution Witness Two.
He claimed the survivor offered a vivid and unwavering account of what the security guard did to her.
“I believe her.
“The defendant’s denial does not hold water, as he admitted knowing the prosecutrix but made a u-turn during cross-examination that he did not know her.
“He also admitted that the prosecution came to the compound to fetch water,” he said.
The judge determined that Olarewaju contradicted himself, rendering his evidence-in-chief untrustworthy.
He then convicted the guard of the accusation and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Oshodi stated that the convict’s name should be included in the Lagos State Government’s Sexual Offences Register.
During the trial, the prosecution called two witnesses, and the defendant testified as the only witness.
According to the prosecution, the offense violated Section 137 of Lagos State’s Criminal Laws, 2015.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")
