Legal Nigeria

Court sends man to prison for raping secondary school girl

A magistrate court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta,Ogun state Capital on Tuesday ordered that a 20-year-old man, Michael Bassey, be remanded for allegedly raping a 19 year-old secondary school girl.
The police prosecutor, Idowu Ogunleye, told the court that the accused person committed the crime on June 10 at the premises of Command Day Secondary School, Lafenwa, Abeokuta.
Mr. Ogunleye, an inspector, told the court that the accused person ‎who was of no fixed address and occupation, had unlawful carnal knowledge of the teenage secondary school student. He said the accused was arrested by soldiers who went in search of him after he had allegedly committed the offence.
“The 19-year-old girl who attends Premier Secondary School was sent on an errand to Command Day Secondary School,” the prosecutor said. “Half way into the school, the accused who appeared suddenly, dragged her into the bush, filled her mouth with sand and raped her mercilessly, forcibly taking the innocent girl’s virginity.
“She managed to crawl to one of the Army checkpoints and the soldiers at the checkpoints went in search of the accused person and subsequently arrested him.”
‎The prosecutor told the court that Mr. Bassey committed the offence which contravened Sections 357 and 358 of the Criminal Laws of Ogun State, 2006.
Efforts by the counsel for the accused, Adebayo Ogundeyi, to secure his bail proved abortive.
The magistrate, Abiola Onifade, ordered the accused to be remanded in Oba Prison pending advice from the director of Public Prosecution.
She thereafter adjourned the matter to August 21 for further hearing.
-Premium Times