A security guard, Emmanuel Buchi, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping a married nurse at Green Springs School in Lagos where they both worked until the incident.
The Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court handed down the judgment having found the 37-year-old guilty as charged.
The trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, while delivering judgment said the prosecution successfully proved the offences of rape and assault occasioning harm against the convict.
The judge described Buchi as a pathological liar, stating that his attempts to deviate from the offences committed did not hold water.
Oshodi noted that the convict showed no remorse for his actions and continued to insist that the survivor consented to the sexual intercourse.
According to the judge, the sentence of life imprisonment for rape is mandatory under the law and reflects society’s condemnation of the crime.
He added that the circumstances of the case were deeply troubling, as the convict threatened the survivor while raping her in the school clinic.
Oshodi said the evidence of the prosecutrix was corroborated by two other prosecution witnesses, describing her testimony as clear, consistent, credible and authentic, while that of the convict was unreliable and tainted with lies.
He said: “You were employed as a security guard at Green Springs School, Awoyaya, and your duty was to protect lives and property. Instead of protecting the prosecutrix, you became her assailant by abandoning your duty post on the night of November 27, 2021, entering the school clinic where you had no authorisation to be, and raping her while she was alone on duty.”
The judge further stated that evidence showed the convict used force and violence on the prosecutrix by pressing her hands down, grabbing her legs and stamping on them with his security boots. He added that medical examination revealed black discolouration on her left eye and bruises on the inner part of her vagina.
The court also held that in his extra-judicial statement to the police, the convict admitted that the prosecutrix told him, “Leave me now,” but under cross-examination, he claimed he interpreted the refusal as consent.
The court further found that the convict fabricated his defence by claiming that the prosecutrix was his girlfriend, a claim contradicted by his police statement.
Oshodi said: “Throughout this trial, you have shown no understanding of the gravity of your actions or the harm you have caused. Beyond the physical injuries, the prosecutrix will carry the psychological scars of that violation.”
The court consequently sentenced Buchi to life imprisonment for rape and three years’ imprisonment for assault occasioning harm, ordering that the sentences run concurrently.
The judge also directed that the convict’s name be entered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
