Man bags 20-year jail term for raping a minor

Dennis Okubiat was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja on Wednesday for raping a 12-year-old girl for three months, resulting in urine incontinence.

Justice Ismail Ijelu ruled that the victim testified that she went for evangelism and, in the process, went to check on the convict, who had not been coming to church after her church’s pastor instructed them to visit members who had not been seen in church for some time.

He said that she testified that because she respected Okubiat as an elder in their church, she went to check on him and then assisted him in washing plates and cleaning his home.

The victim also claimed that after she finished, the criminal provided her with Garri because she liked Garri.

“So, he gave me garri and groundnut to drink, and I slept off. When I woke up, I saw a white substance in my private part, and I woke Okubiat up and asked him what happened to me; he said if I told anybody, he would kill me.

“He did it several times for three months, and on September 6, 2021, he came to my house and said we should do it; I said I don’t know what you have been doing to me, so he started shouting and calling me to come and do it; that was how our neighbours heard and caught him.

“After he raped me, whenever I sit down, my private part is always itching me, and it makes me look like a mad girl in the street. When I wake up in the morning, I’m always wet, but during the day, I can control myself.

“This never happened to me before Okubiat raped me; I always woke up by myself at night to urinate, but after the rape, I’m not able to control myself, especially at night,” the victim had testified, according to the judge.

Justice Ijelu also stated that when defence counsel M. O. Kareem cross-examined the victim about the white substance she saw on her private part, she repeated that the convict told her that if she told anyone, he would kill her and that the pastor of their church was a wicked man who did not care about anyone, which is why he stopped attending church.

The judge also concluded that Okubiat did not dispute or challenge the victim’s testimony. He claimed to know the girl and knew she was 12 years old.

In his defence, Okubiat stated that the girl came to his house because her mother was working in a hotel and had abandoned the victim and her other siblings and that he used to feed the victim and her sisters whenever they expressed hunger.

He also claimed that he had known the victim’s family when they arrived in the community.

Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a nurse with the Women At Risk Foundation, stated during the trial that the victim was brought to their office by her relatives on September 14, 2021, due to the sexual defilement of a minor.

According to Nwoke-Okoi, the victim stated that when she visited his residence, he offered her garri and groundnut, and after taking two spoonfuls, she grew drowsy and fell asleep.

“She mentioned that when she woke up, she found herself naked and saw sperm on her body, and the perpetrator threatened her not to tell anybody.

“She said he sexually assaulted her several times in June, July, and August 2021, but that he only raped her once on September 6, 2021, before he was arrested,” the witness said.

Nwoke-Okoi also told the court that Dr. Yejide Okungbaye examined the victim while she was present, and that the medical report was provided to the police, who referred the case to her organisation.

She stated in the report that there were mild bruises around the urethra of the vagina.

“There was redness in the labia; the hymen membrane was not intact, and with that report on the vagina, we found that there was blunt force penetration,” she said.

In his decision, Justice Ijelu stated that the court accepts all of the victim’s evidence as long as it is consistent with the medical report.

He stated that the prosecution, led by state attorney Babatunde Sunmonu, proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“I accept the entirety of this evidence, and the defence tried to discredit it.

“The court finds that this piece of evidence by PW 2 (victim) unequivocally proved the ingredients of the offence of defilement.

“The act of Okubiat was premeditated, the victim was vulnerable, and he took advantage of her.

“The court finds that the act of the convict harmed the victim as it has caused her extreme psychological impact and social impact,” the judge said.

“Okubiat is hereby sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, to run from the day he was arrested and remanded,”