‘Justice Served:’ Lagos Man Folarin Rauf To Spend Life In Prison For Defiling Five-Year-Old

Eko Hot Blog reports that an Ikeja Sexual Offences & Domestic Violence Court has sentenced one Folarin Rauf to life imprisonment for defiling five-year-old girl in Lagos.

The Lagos State Domestic & Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) made the disclosure in a statement on Tuesday.

Justice Abiola Soladoye handed down the sentence after finding the convict guilty of the offence of defilement.

Rauf was arraigned on November 30, 2021, on one count of defilement which he pleaded not guilty.

The victim of the 56-year-old was his boss’s granddaughter.

The victim, who testified on August 5, 2022, told the court that she was six years old at the time of giving evidence before the court.

She said her grandfather’s driver defiled her severally at her grandfather’s living room and in the Jeep on the premises and that she had lost the number of counts that he raped her.

She testified that on one of the occasions, she was playing with her friend when the driver asked the friend to leave and he inserted his manhood in her private part.

The victim said Rauf threatened her not to tell anybody but that she later told her grandfather that the convict raped her.

The offence committed contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The judge held that the prosecution led by Abimbola Abolade proved the three ingredients of defilement.

“The prosecution has satisfied the three ingredients and the evidence of the victim corroborated the evidence of the other witnesses. The testimony of the victim was well corroborated by the mother and grandfather before it was reported to the authorities,” she said.

“The defence in their written address urged the court to discharge the defendant as there was no evidence against him.

“The conduct of the defendant is nasty, devoid of character, reckless and his ‘own way’ of saying thank you to his employer was to defile his granddaughter.”

“The sentence passed by Justice Abiola Soladoye represents a significant victory in the fight against sexual offences & domestic violence, and serves as a warning to perpetrators that justice will always be served,” Lagos DSVA said.

“The Lagos State Domestic & Sexual Violence Agency reiterates the State’s Zero tolerance stance and insists that there is help for survivors even as we remain committed to ensuring perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.”

The agency added that Rauf’s name will be registered in the Sexual Offenders Register as maintained by Lagos State.