Cleric Sentence to 21 Years Imprisonment over Sexual Assault Minor 

On Tuesday, January 14, Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court convicted and sentenced an Arabic teacher, Oladosu Sakiru, to 21 Years Imprisonment For attempting to sexually assault a 13-year-old female pupil.

The convict was re-arraigned before the Justice Rahman Oshodi, entering a guilty plea to the amended two counts of attempted sexual assault by penetration and indecent treatment of a child.

He had been assigned on March 17, 2024, and had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Trial had commenced, and the prosecution had called two witnesses, the victim and her father, who both testified against the convict.

Meanwhile, the convict has chosen to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on September 6, 2024. The prosecution amended the charge and consequently informed the court of the position.

The convict was re-arranged, and he pleaded guilty this time to the charge.

Delivering judgement on Tuesday, the court admonished the convict for breaching the trust entrusted on him by the parents of the survivor, who enrolled their child in the Islamic school.

Justice Oshodi held that the evidence before the court deduced a pattern of predatory behavior as the convict subjected the underaged girl to inappropriate touching and forcing himself on her.

According to him, when the convict was confronted with his action, he sought refuge in the often-repeated phrase, “it was the work of the devil.”

The court held that the religious leader, and teachers like the convict, held an important position in society and when such individuals broke the trust placed in them by preying on children, the court must respond with appropriate severity to reflect society condemnation of such actions, and deter others from committing similar acts. 

“As an imam and an Arabic school teacher, you occupy a position of significant trust, that trust extended not only to the 13-year-old child, the one you victimised but also to her parents and the entire community who look to you for spiritual and moral guidance.

“You betrayed this trust in the most deplorable manner,” he said.

However, the court sentenced Sakiru to 14 years imprisonment on count one, and seven years jail term on count two.

The judge held that the jail terms should run consecutively and that the convict’s name should be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register. 

Earlier, in a plea of mercy, on behalf of the convict, defence counsel, Mr. Nelson Onyejaka, had pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy. 

Onyejaka, told the court the convict was a first-time offender, with two wives, and prayed the court for leniency in sentencing his client.

The State Prosecutor Counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo, however, prayed the court to sentence the convict accordingly. 

Okeowo to the court that the convict committed the offence between February and March, 2022 on odusanmi Street, Mushin, Lagos.

According to the prosecution, the offences committed violated Sections 135 and 262 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.