By Ade Oyeyemi
A Lagos school teacher, Nwatu Isaac, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old pupil of El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School in Epe.
The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency disclosed the development in a statement posted on its X account on Friday.
According to the agency, Isaac was convicted after the court found that the prosecution had established the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
The agency said the offence occurred on March 10, 2022, adding that the survivor, who was nine years old when she testified, gave evidence before the court and identified Isaac as the person who took her into a school toilet.
The statement quoted the court as finding the survivor’s testimony credible and consistent. It said she recounted how Isaac, whom she knew as “Master Isaac,” took her into the toilet and sexually assaulted her.
The court also considered evidence from the survivor’s mother, who reportedly noticed blood on the child’s underwear and genital area after she returned from school.
Medical evidence presented by the Mirabel Centre was also said to have corroborated the account of sexual penetration.
The DSVA said the court rejected Isaac’s denial that he had left the school premises on the day of the incident, noting that his own evidence placed him at the school at the relevant time.
The court also dismissed his alibi defence and rejected suggestions that the child could have been sexually abused by her stepsister or that the school toilet was too small for the offence to have taken place.
During sentencing, Justice Oshodi held that Isaac had violated the trust placed in him by the child and her family, having served as her teacher and being among adults entrusted with the care of children in the community.
The court further directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law, 2022, to provide the survivor and her family with any necessary protection and support.
Isaac was prosecuted under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, which provides for life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
The DSVA also said Isaac’s name would be entered in the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register in accordance with Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021.
The conviction comes amid renewed efforts by the Lagos State Government to strengthen its response to sexual and gender-based violence.
Last month, the government unveiled a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Policy during the National Convening for GBV State Coordinators held in Lagos.
The Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the policy was designed to complement existing efforts focused on prosecuting perpetrators and supporting survivors by placing greater emphasis on preventing sexual and domestic violence.
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She said, “We have done quite a lot in terms of response; we are ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted and survivors are able to access justice.”
Vivour-Adeniyi added that the state also needed to examine the causes of such offences and strengthen preventive measures through a formal policy framework.
