56-year-old man jailed for raping 14-year-old girl in Osogbo

An Osogbo Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 56-year-old man, Samuel Olatoke, to 14 years imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl (name withheld).

Chief Magistrate Olawunmi Makanjuola, on Friday, said Olatoke was guilty of raping the minor at Abodua Compound, Osogbo, on June 11, 2012.

The magistrate said the convict committed the offence without the girl’s consent.

Makanjuola added that the offence was contrary to Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume 2, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2003.

The trial of the convict followed an advocacy by the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare, whose Commissioner, Mrs. Adetoun Adegboyega, took up the challenge to prosecute rape cases in the state free of charge.

After the conviction, Adegboyega charged rape victims to summon up courage and report their ordeals to the ministry, describing rape as a most heinous offence.

Adegboyega, who spoke at a news conference on Friday, said, “It is saddening and curious that men old enough to be grandfathers are in the involved in the rape of minors.”