On Tuesday, the Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos ordered the remand of a 26-year-old unemployed man, Mustapha Baba, for defiling a four-year-old girl.

The Magistrate, Ejiro Kubeinje, who did not take the defendant’s plea, ordered that he be remanded in Kirikri prison custody.

Ms Kubeinje, however, directed the police to send the case file to the state director of public prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

She adjourned the case until January 25, 2022, for DPP’s advice.

Mr Baba, a resident of Ayobo, Lagos, is being tried for defilement.

The prosecution counsel Bisi Ogunleye told the court that the defendant committed the offence in September at his residence.

He said the defendant unlawfully had canal knowledge of the minor.

“The defendant lured the girl into his room and had sexual intercourse with her. When the mother of the girl noticed that her daughter had been defiled, she questioned her, and the girl told her what the defendant did to her,” explained the prosecutor. “The case was reported at the police station leading to the arrest of the defendant.”

The alleged offence violates Sections 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, prescribing life imprisonment for defilement. 

(NAN)