A man, John Owiku, has been jailed for 10 years for indecent treatment of a child and indecent practices.
Owiku was imprisoned on Friday by Justice Rahman Oshodi of an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court after he had pleaded guilty to a two-count amended charge brought against him by the state.
The court held that the offences are contrary to Sections135 and 136 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
It was also gathered that the convict had initially been tried on a charge of defiling a 13-year-old survivor sometime in April 2018, before he opted for plea bargain.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Oshodi expressed his displeasure that the court had spent four years conducting a rape trial before the prosecutor, Amanda Demechi-Asagba and defence counsel, Peter Imhanguezogie, struck a plea bargain deal for the defendant.
Owiku’s plea bargain with the state led to the amendment of the charge from an initial one-count charge of rape, contrary to Section 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, to a two-count charge of indecent treatment of a child and indecent practices, contrary to Section 135 and 136 of the same law.
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Justice Oshodi said while a defendant found guilty of violating Section 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015 is liable to a sentence of life imprisonment, a violation of Sections 135 and 136 of the Lagos State Criminal Law bear a sentence of seven years and three years respectively.
The judge asked the defendant whether he understood the contents of his guilty plea and the obligation of the court to give out the maximum sentences that both charges carry, and Owiku replied in the affirmative.
Oshodi said: “I hereby convict the defendant under section 135 and 136 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015”
Earlier, the Defence Counsel, Imhanguezogie, in his allocutus, also told the court that the convict was remorseful and that he was the breadwinner of his family.
“I pray the court to be lenient in sentencing the convict,” Imhanguezogie said.
The prosecutor, Asagba, however, informed the court that the prosecution would soon be opposing plea bargain agreement.
“Soon, we will be opposing plea bargains. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance as we must protect our girls,” she said.
