A Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has sentenced a 36-year-old electrician, Samuel John to 12-year imprisonment for raping his 9-year-old neighbour (names withheld).
This was the judgment delivered by Justice Abiola Soladoye following a plea bargain agreement to the amended two-count charges of sexual assault .
The survivor and his brother went to Samuel John’s apartment to watch film. While they were there, he went into the kitchen to smoke. Later, when the generator ran out of fuel, he sent the survivor and her brother to buy more fuel.
After they returned, they continued watching television. Sometime later, the survivor’s brother went to urinate. When he returned, he discovered that the door had been locked, leaving her sister alone inside with the convict.
The convict then laid the survivor on the floor, removed her underwear and his trousers, and sexually penetrated her vagina without her consent. She attempted to shout but he covered her mouth.
When the survivor’s brother returned, after awhile, Samuel John opened the door, and the survivor left the apartment. She did not immediately tell her mother about the incident. However, she later confided in her brother.
On a Saturday morning, the survivor complained to her mother that she was experiencing pain in her vagina. Concerned, the mother asked what had happened. The survivor’s brother then informed her that Samuel John had sexually assaulted the survivor at his apartment.
One of the charge reads: Samuel John (m) on the 30th day of September 2022 at Bayeiku, Ikorodu, Lagos state, in Ikeja Judicial Division, did unlawfully have sexual intercourse with one ( aged nine years old) ( names withheld).
This offence is contrary to section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.
When the convict was first arraigned on November 9, 2022, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. However, he later entered into a plea bargain agreement dated March 11, 2026.
During the trial, the Lagos state prosecution counsel, O.E. Adewoye, called five witnesses and tendered several exhibits including extra-judicial statements of the survivor.