Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced a 20-year-old man, Kunle Amujo, to five years’ imprisonment for sexually abusing his neighbour’s four-year-old daughter.
Justice John Adeyeye found the defendant guilty of sexual abuse and exploitation of a child.
“The defendant is, in the circumstance, sentenced to five years imprisonment without an option of a fine,” the judge added.
According to the charge, Amujo on May 29, 2020, at Odo Oro Ekiti in the Ikole Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State, sexually abused and exploited the four-year-old girl by removing her clothes and laying on her, contrary to Section 32 of the Child’s Rights Law of Ekiti State.
In her statement to the police, the minor stated, “I am four years old. One day, Kunle Amujo (Pirigidi) took me to the operator’s room (Saidi). He removed my pants and laid on me. He first put Tom-Tom in my mouth; he covered my mouth with my clothes when my mother was calling me outside.”
The victim’s mother, in her testimony before the court, said, “I went to give breakfast to my brothers who came for visitation from our village. When I came back, I did not find my daughter. I was calling her name, but she did not answer. I started searching everywhere.
“In the process, I wanted to ask my neighbour, Kunle Amujo, if he knew her whereabouts because his door was not locked. When I opened the door, I saw him lying on my daughter, but he did not remove her trousers. I later discovered that my daughter’s pants had been removed, while Tom-Tom was in her mouth. The matter was reported at the palace.”
The state counsel, Oluwakemi Ajumobi, called four witnesses and tendered no exhibit, while the convict spoke in his own defence and called no witness as well.
Counsel for the convict, Stanley Okonkwo, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying Amujo was remorseful.
