The judge highlighted that the prosecution presented compelling direct evidence, including the victim's testimony detailing the assault.
Michael Mowete, a school bus driver has been sentenced to life in prison for defiling a three-year-old girl in Lagos.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court found that the prosecution effectively proved its case against Mowete on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.
Oshodi dismissed Mowete's claim of a romantic relationship with the victim's mother, citing lack of evidence.
A defence witness testified that Mowete was consistently present on the bus during drop-offs at the victim's mother's shop, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The judge highlighted that the prosecution presented compelling direct evidence, including the victim's testimony detailing the assault.
This testimony was corroborated by the victim's mother and medical evidence, supported by circumstantial evidence from the Investigating Police Officer.
According to Oshodi, medical examinations revealed recent signs of blunt force penetration. He also noted that Mowete's assertion of a call log proving a relationship with the victim's mother lacked substantiation.
Despite Mowete's defence arguing the victim was coached, the court found no basis for this claim. Oshodi emphasised that even if a relationship between Mowete and the victim's mother existed, it did not absolve him of the charge of defilement.
Oshodi consequently sentenced Mowete to life imprisonment and ordered that his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
He said, “Michael Mowete, this court has found you guilty of the charge of defilement. You have defiled a child, barely three years of age, and you attempted to traumatise her family by fabricating that you had an amorous relationship with her mother.
“The mother of the child told this court that urine comes out of her daughter’s vagina every 15 to 30 minutes, and this shows how much damage you have done to the child.
“You are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment and you shall serve the remainder of your term in the maximum correctional centre.”
Babajide Boye, who prosecuted the case, called four witnesses, and the defence counsel also called four witnesses.