A Magistrate Court sitting in Ikeja has ordered a 43-year-old man, Friday Abu, to be remanded in a corrections centre for allegedly defiling his 15-year-old niece.
Abu was charged to court by the police in the state for defilement.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs E. Kubeinje, who did not take Abu’s plea, directed the police to send the case file to the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
She adjourned the case until July 23, 2024, for the DPP’s advice.
Inspector John Iberedem, the prosecutor on the case earlier told the court that Abu committed the offence on May 29, 2024, at about 5:50 pm at Olugbede Compound, Alapere, Lagos State.
Iberedem alleged that Abu sexually defiled his niece who lives with him.
Ending sexual abuse in Nigeria
According to the prosecutor, the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos, 2015.
The Nigerian Government had earlier initiated a strategy to effectively tackle rising cases of rape and other forms of gender-based violence in schools across the country.
The initiative, ‘Standard Operating Procedure for the Prosecution of Perpetrators of School-Related Gender-Based Violence Cases’ was developed by the Federal Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education.
It was funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.
