A former part-time lecturer of the University of Lagos, Akin Baruwa, has been sentenced to 21 years imprisonment by an Ikeja High Court for raping an 18-year-old admission seeker.
Justice Josephine Oyefeso while sentencing Baruwa, described his action as heinous, noting that the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others.
She said the offence committed against the young lady was a violation of her chastity which would have left huge emotional scars from which I pray and hope she will recover.
“I cannot begin to imagine the physical and mental trauma she has had to endure from the man who she considered her father’s friend, a community leader who should have known better. This is a shame!
“More painful here is that the convict gave the family the impression that he was a lecturer at UNILAG but his services were only needed on an ad-hoc basis by the university,” the judge said.
She said that the convict gave the impression that he could assist in giving his victim university admission whereas he could not.
Earlier, Oyefeso said that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and that the medical evidence was consistent with the testimony of the victim.
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“It is interesting to note that all the graphic details he gave in court in his testimony were not contained in his statement at the Surulere Police Station.
“The difference between his statement and his evidence are like night and day. DW1 (Baruwa) has a fertile imagination and is not afraid to use it.
“The evidence before me overwhelmingly shows that the sexual intercourse between PW3 (complainant) and DW1 was not consensual; I so hold. The court is satisfied that the prosecution has been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I find you Baruwa Afeez Akin guilty of a one-count charge of rape contrary to Section 258(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011, and I hereby convict you accordingly,” she said
Baruwa was arraigned on Oct. 18, 2016.
The complainant (victim) had told the court that her father took her to Baruwa’s home one morning for the purpose of helping her to gain admission into UNILAG.
She said that while in his office, Baruwa told her to pick up a piece of paper from the floor and forcefully pushed her on a couch and raped her.
The complainant said she was a virgin and never had a boyfriend before the rape that occurred three months away from her 18th birthday.