In the war against rape and offenses against women, justice took its course when a part time lecturer at the University of Lagos, Afeez Baruwa, bagged to 21- year jail term for raping an 18-year-old girl admission seeker.
Justice Josephine Oyefeso of a Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, Thursday found Baruwa guilty of a one-count charge of rape.
In his defence, Baruwa said he thought she was aged 23 years or 24 years before the incident happened.
However, Justice Oyefeso said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as evidence overwhelmingly showed that the sexual intercourse between the victim and the lecturer was no consensual.
“I cannot begin to imagine the emotional trauma of the girl. The convict offended his family, the victim, the society and God,” the Judge said.
Continuing, she remarked that, “This is a crime that not only offends the survivor, it offends her family, it offends the society at large, it also offends God.
“The offence committed against this 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.”
“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.”
“In line with Section 258 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2011, Baruwa Afeez Akin is hereby sentenced to 21 years’ imprisonment.”
In October 2019, BBC documentary titled ‘Sex for Grades’ exposed dirty stories of sex scandals in some Nigerian and Ghanaian universities and brought to the fore the issue of sexual molestation in institutions of higher learning.
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