A 55-year-old man, Collins Ika, has been sentenced to 60 years in prison by a Delta State High Court sitting in Orerokpe for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl who had been placed in his care in Ugolo community, Okpe Local Government Area.
The offences occurred between 2021 and 2022.
Delivering judgment the presiding judge, Justice Joe Egwu, also ordered the convict to pay ₦50 million in compensation to the victim.
The court further directed that ₦111,000 brought by the defendant in an attempt to privately settle the matter without the knowledge of the complainant, the police, or a human rights activist be forfeited.
The court ruled that the money should be forfeited to the Delta State Government.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Miss Phoebian Onomakpome, an Assistant Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, informed the court that the victim testified that the defendant repeatedly sexually abused her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.
The girl’s mother also gave evidence, stating that she had left her daughter and her other children in the care of the defendant, who was their neighbour, while she was away.
The girl eventually revealed the abuse after repeatedly complaining of severe waist pain.
After the matter was reported to the police, the suspect went into hiding but was later apprehended in a sting operation arranged with the help of a human rights activist. He had been invited under the pretext of discussing an out-of-court settlement and was arrested when he showed up with ₦111,000, allegedly meant to silence the case.
Throughout the trial, the defendant denied the accusations and presented his wife as his only witness.
In delivering judgment, Justice Egwu ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced the defendant to 60 years in prison, emphasizing that the punishment should serve as a warning to others.
Similarly, in 2025, the Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti sentenced 33-year-old Olamilekan Ajewole to life imprisonment for raping a 10-year-old girl.
According to the charge, the defendant was accused of conspiring on June 29, 2024, in Ayetoro Ekiti to rape the minor, an offence said to be in violation of Section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State 2012.
