An Ekiti State High Court in Ado Ekiti has sentenced a 37-year-old man, Samuel Adebamigbe, to life imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl.

He was tried and found guilty on the charge of rape.

The charge read, “That you, Samuel Adebamigbe, on November 3, 2020, at Ado Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of the court, did rape a 13-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Right Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”

In her statement to the police, the teenager said she was sent by her mother to deliver a loaf of bread to the defendant on request.

She said when she got there, the convict told her that he wanted to buy pepper soup around the Ajilosun area of Ado Ekiti.

“He asked me to sit in a room till when the pepper soup would be ready. When he came back, he locked the door and had sexual intercourse with me twice. I shouted, but there was nobody to rescue me. He later gave me N1,500 and warned me not to tell anybody,” the victim added.

The girl was said to have narrated her ordeal to her mother, who reported the case to the police, leading to the arrest and arraignment of the convict.

The police prosecutor, Kunle Adeyemo, called five witnesses and tendered the statement of the victim, her birth certificate, a medical report, among others, as exhibits.

Adebamigbe spoke through his lawyer and called three witnesses.

In his judgment, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye said, “The defendant willingly had sexual intercourse with the victim. The prosecution has, therefore, proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt with the implication that the sole issue for determination is resolved in favour of the prosecution.

“The defendant is hereby convicted as charged. He is sentenced to life imprisonment.”