Two teachers in Ekiti State have been sentenced to 44 years imprisonment by an Ado-Ekiti High Court for raping two teenagers.
The defendants, Ajibola Gbenga (43) and Olaofe Ayodele (52), were arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Familoni in March 2022 on a three-count charge bordering on rape and abuse of office.
The charge read: “The defendants, sometime in November 2019 at Ado Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did rape a 17-year-old girl.
Also, the 2nd defendant, sometime in November 2019, did rape a 15-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Right Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
The charge further read: “The defendants, sometime in November 2019 at Ado Ekiti, did abuse their offices as Public Servants, contrary to Section 104 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State 2012.”
In her testimony before the court, one of the victims said: “Mr Ajibola was my Computer teacher, he always disturbed me while in class.
“On this fateful day, he told me to be in mufti, he gave me N200 to go and wait for him in front of a filling station along Bank Road. He later came there alongside Mr Olaofe. Before they came, one of my classmates also met me there; he told me Mr Olaofe asked her to wait here for him.
“When they came, we all left for a hotel around Oke-Ila area of Ado Ekiti. On getting there, we were taken to different rooms where Mr Ajibola had sexual intercourse with me.
After that day, he continued to disturb me. When I could no longer bear it, I narrated what happened to my mother, who later took the matter up.”
To prove his case, the prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemi, called four witnesses and tendered statements of the victims and defendants, medical reports, and a report of the panel of enquiry among others, as exhibits.
The defendants spoke in their own defence through their lawyer, Lawrence Fasanmi, and called six witnesses. They denied all allegations levied against them, describing them as political, and tendered exhibits to support their innocence.
In his judgement, Justice Familoni said: “The defendants seared their minds and mulled the voice of their conscience as they took advantage of the victims with reckless abandon.
“They deserve severe penal sanctions for their misdeeds to serve as a warning to others who may want to follow their footsteps.
“Therefore, Ajibola Gbenga is sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on count one without the option of a fine, Olaofe Ayodele is sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on count two without the option of a fine, while the two defendants are sentenced to two years imprisonment each on count three.
“The terms are to run concurrently,” Justice Familoni said.
