A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has imposed a life sentence on Olumuyiwa Adjoto after finding him guilty of sexually abusing a six-year-old girl in Badagry.

The ruling was delivered on Monday by Justice Rahman Oshodi at the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, following a trial in which the prosecution established that the child had been violated while under the care of the defendant.

Adjoto was prosecuted by the Lagos State Government on three criminal counts related to sexual offences against a minor. At the conclusion of the case, the court upheld two of the charges, ruling that the evidence presented met the legal threshold required for conviction. The third charge was dismissed.

During the trial, the state called multiple witnesses, including the child involved, her parent, a medical professional, and a police investigator. Their testimonies, alongside medical findings, formed the basis of the court’s decision. The defendant testified in his own defence but did not call any additional witnesses.

Court records indicated that the incident occurred in April 2022 at a residential location in Mowo, Badagry, at a time when the child had been left in the defendant’s custody.

In his judgment, Justice Oshodi described the offence as a serious breach of trust and emphasised the lasting harm that crimes of this nature inflict on children. He noted that expert evidence before the court detailed both immediate and long-term emotional and developmental consequences that survivors of childhood sexual abuse may face.

Taking these factors into account, the court sentenced Adjoto to life imprisonment on each of the two counts for which he was convicted, with both sentences to run at the same time.

The judge further ordered that the convict be officially recorded in the Lagos State Sex Offenders Register, in accordance with state laws aimed at protecting children and preventing repeat offences.

The judgment reinforces the Lagos State judiciary’s firm stance against crimes involving the abuse of minors and underscores the legal consequences awaiting offenders who exploit children placed in their care.

Report credited to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).