An Ikeja High Court has sentenced Afeez Baruwa, a part-time lecturer at the University of Lagos, to 21 years imprisonment for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl admission seeker.
The Herald gathered that Justice Josephine Oyefeso presiding over the case convicted Baruwa of a one-count charge of rape brought against him.
Justice Oyefeso said: “The prosecution has proven his case beyond a reasonable doubt. I found him guilty of the charge.
“I cannot begin to imagine the emotional trauma of the girl. The convict offended his family, the victim, the society and God. Baruwa I hereby sentence you to 21 years imprisonment Maximum, this is my judgment.”
Earlier, The Herald reported that John Otema, an alumnus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), standing trial for having canal knowledge of students of the institution has made some disclosure about the allegations.
Otema stated that he couldn’t remember admitted that he truly had a canal knowledge of the students. He added that although the police compelled him to make some statement which he later denied.
On his part, Fred Onyeka, counsel to Otema, frowned against the statement being tendered in evidence at the resumed hearing of the case at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court.
Onyeka said that an addendum of six lines, where his client admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with Student Y (name withheld) in his statement did not emanate voluntarily from him.
The defence counsel said that Otema was coerced to write that he voluntarily wrote the contents and was not beaten prior to writing the statement.
“I am objecting on the ground that the last six lines of this statement were made on a different date from the first date which was Feb. 8, 2018.
“Those six lines were of the defendant. It was obtained involuntarily my Lord; he was forced to make those confessions.
“It is a flagrant violation of Section 34(1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,”