An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, the state’s capital, has sentenced a 29-year-old farmer, Tobi Owajulu, to ten years in prison for raping a 17-year-old girl.

The charge reads, “That you, Tobi Owajulu, on June 12, 2021, at Ibeji-Eluja, in Emure Ekiti, in the Ado Ekiti Judicial Division, did rape a 17-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child Rights Law, Cap. R7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”

The victim, in her testimony before the court, stated that, “I am an apprentice as a hairdresser.

“On that day, I went to my grandmother’s farm to harvest pepper.

“While on the farm, the man came to me, and demanded water and palm fruits, and I told him I did not have water, while the palm fruits belonged to my grandmother.

“Thereafter, he left, came back later and suddenly covered my mouth with a piece of cloth.

“He was able to rape me on the farm despite holding a cutlass.

“He also flogged me with cassava sticks for wasting his time.

“It was a passer-by who saw me after the incident that took me to a hospital, and later informed my parents,” she added.

The police prosecutor, Taiwo Ajibulu, called five witnesses and tendered the statements of the defendant, a medical report, pants, tight and shirts as exhibits.

Taiwo Ajibulu, the police prosecutor, called five witnesses and presented the defendant’s statements, a medical report, jeans, tights, and shirts as exhibits.

The defendant, who spoke through his counsel, called no witness.

Justice Adeniyi Familoni, during the court judgment, stated that, “I hold that the totality of evidence adduced by the prosecution has proved the rape of the victim beyond reasonable doubt.

“The defendant richly deserved the legal consequence of his misdeed.”

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