The Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on Tuesday sentenced a 50-year-old cleric, Isa Mustapha, to life imprisonment for defiling his neighbour’s eight-year-old daughter.

Delivering the judgement, Ramon Oshodi held that the prosecution had successfully proven the ingredients of defilement against the convict.

“The survivor told this court that the defendant slept with her four times and that the defendant lives alone in his apartment.

“The testimony of the survivor was impeccably clear as there was no inconsistency in her evidence,” Mr Oshodi said.

The judge said that the defendant’s oral submission, medical report, and the investigative police officer corroborated the evidence before the court.

“The defendant’s oral admission that he was at the scene of the incident and that he only fingered the survivor corroborated the evidence before the court that the defendant was with the survivor at the scene of the incident.

“The defendant is hereby found guilty as charged. He is sentenced to life imprisonment,” Oshodi held.

The judge ordered that the convict’s name should be entered into the register of sexual offenders of Lagos state.

Earlier, the defence counsel, Morenike Ifarinde, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that the defendant was an “alfa” and had never been charged with any offence.

However, the state prosecutor team, Babajide Boye and Abiodun Alagbe urged the court to convict the defendant accordingly.

(NAN)