9-year-old girl recounts how their 62-year-old landlord sexually assaulted her

In her evidence before Justice Lekan Ogunmoye of an Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti division, the minor said before her sister caught the man having carnal knowledge of her, Jimoh, a 62-year-old man would consistently warn her against telling anyone about it.

“Baba Cooler (the defendant) was our landlord; he had had sex with me four times before my sister caught us on that day. He had warned me not to tell anybody or else I would die.

“In the afternoon of that day, he called me to his room. He asked me to sleep on the chair; he removed my pants and put his private parts in my bumbum. He was doing it when my sister caught us. My sister explained all that happened to my mother,” the rape victim narrated.

Jimoh was said to have been caught raping the girl in 2019, after which he was arrested and dragged to court for prosecution.

“That you, Daudu Jimoh, on September 27, 2019, at Ilupeju Ekiti, within the jurisdiction of this court, did rape a nine-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012,” the charge read.

In his ruling, Justice Ogunmoye stated that the “confessional statements of the defendant, both written and oral, showed without equivocation that the defendant indeed committed the offence.

“In all, the prosecution had proved his case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendant. The sole issue for determination is resolved in favour of the prosecution.”

He, therefore, convicted Jimoh and sentenced him to life imprisonment.