An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, on Wednesday sentenced one Idris Rasheed, 23, to 12 years imprisonment for ráping a woman in purdah.
Trial judge, Justice Oyeyemi Ajayi said since the convict confessed to the crime while the doctor’s report confirmed penetration and semen was found. Rasheed was guilty of the charge.
The judge said the defendant was hereby sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
Ajayi said the jail term would commence from January 29, 2023, when the convict was arraigned in court.
The defence counsel, Mr. O. Ekundayo, during his plea, said the convict had spent 19 months and nine days at the custody of Agodi prison.
Ekundayo said the convict had conducted himself in a manner most reasonably expected of him and has learnt his lesson.
He said the convict had endured the pains and agony at the prison facility as a lesson to him.
He said that the convict was not a fugitive before and during the time spent at Agodi prison in the circumstances of this case.
“The defendant is at the mercy of the court, based on the fact before my noble Lord, I prayed the court to exercise the judicial dexterity and clemency of the convict, “ Ekundayo said.
Earlier, the prosecution led by Mrs. K. Oloso-Olayiwola, Deputy Director, Public Prosecution, said the convict, a resident of Abayomi area, Iwo Road, Ibadan, was charged with räpe.
Oloso-Olayiwola said the convict räped the vìctim, 29, a petty trader and a divorcee about 10p.m., while she was on her way home.
The prosecutor said the victim had approached the convict to show her the nearest mosque where she could pass the night.
She said it was while the convict wanted to show her the nearest mosque that the convict gripped her neck and flung her to the ground beside the road and räped her.
Oloso-Olayiwola said the offence was contrary to Section 357 and punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Oyo State 2000.
