A Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja has found Gabriel Awaye, a Lagos State bricklayer, guilty of defiling a 13-year-old girl at the Agbawaye Street, Command area of Agbado Oke-Odo in the state.
On June 2, 2021, Awaye, who was charged by the Lagos State Sexual and Domestic Violence Agency on behalf of the state government, was undergoing a trial for the alleged offense.
According to testimony provided to the court, the 13-year-old survivor said she was at her grandmother’s house when one of her friends, who went by the name Rofiat, informed her that her sister had come to see her.
However, when she got to the place, she said she could not find her sister but found the suspect, who forcefully pushed her on the mat and had his way with her.
In a statement published on its verified X handle, formerly known as Twitter, @Lagosdsva, on Wednesday, the LSDVA announced that Justice Abiola Soladoye of the special court had sentenced Awaye to life in prison for the crime, following two years of trial at the Lagos court.
According to the agency, the court also ordered that Awaye’s name be entered into the Sexual Offenders Register in compliance with state law.
The statement quoting the justice’s verdict partly read, “His offenses, according to the prosecution, contravened the provisions of Sections 127 and 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. In her judgement, Justice Soladoye said the prosecution proved the ingredients of the two-count charge of defilement and sexual assault against the defendant.”
