An Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday sentenced a Muslim cleric, Jamiu Mukaila, to three years imprisonment for fraud, pretext of casting out evil spirit and indecent assault on his female victim.
The Magistrate, Mrs Joy Ugbomoiko, found Mukaila, who claimed to be a Muslim cleric, guilty on the first count of defrauding the woman.
Ugbomoiko, however, gave the convict an option of refunding the said amount to the victim within the three months of the sentence.
Mukaila, 42, was sentenced after the court had found him guilty of defrauding the woman of N350, 000.
He was first arraigned before the court on July 10, 2015 on a two-count charge of wanting to cast out “water spirit’’ from the woman, whom he later deceived and had unlawful carnal knowledge of her.
The prosecutor, Cpl. Kolade Tedunjaye, had earlier told the court that the convict committed the offence between May 1 and 7, 2015 at Akinbode in Isolo area of Lagos.
Tedunjaye said that Mukaila collected the said amount from the woman under false pretences of seeing vision that the victim was possessed by a “water spirit’’, and the need for a spiritual bath.
The prosecutor also said that the convict, after collecting the money from his victim, unlawfully had sexual intercourse with her.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 285, 262 (1) and 312 (1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The convict had pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted N100, 000 bail with two sureties in like sum.
During trial, the woman had told the court that the convict came to her office in Isolo and told her that she was possessed by a water spirit.
The victim narrated how the convict took her to the bar beach for spiritual cleansing, after which, the convict defrauded her of the said amount.
She said that the convict also had carnal knowledge of her out of deceit.
In his defence, the convict, who did not have any legal representative during the trial, admitted to have deceived and defrauded the woman.
Mukaila said that he only had carnal knowledge of the woman twice. (NAN)