An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Lagos has sentenced a 65-year-old landlord, Igwe Ambrose, to life imprisonment.
Ambrose was found guilty of inserting fingers into the private parts of his tenant’s children. He was arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on sexual assault by penetration and indecent treatment of a child. The survivors are aged 7 and 11.
The court revealed that the landlord committed the offenses at Shagari Estate, Ipaja, between January and June 2021.
In her verdict, Judge Abiola Soladoye stated that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Soladoye emphasized that the survivors identified the defendant, and the evidence exposed him as a “bare-faced liar.”
The judge described the landlord as a “dirty old man” who had touched the breasts of the survivors and inserted fingers under the pretext of helping them with their school assignments.
“The testimonies of the prosecution witnesses (survivors) were credible, as they cannot consent to being violated by the landlord,” the judge ruled. “The defendant was identified as the assailant, and their evidence was corroborated by their mother and the investigating police officer (IPO) who visited the crime scene and confirmed a clear account of the assault and indecent treatment.”
For count one and count two, the judge sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment each, while counts three and four carried a seven-year jail term each. “Counts one and two carry life imprisonment each; the defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the count charges,” Soladoye added.
