SEX FOR LIFE IMPRISONMENT

The Lagos State Domestic & Sexual Violence Agency tweeted via their handle DSVA Lagos on the 11th day of July, 2023, that an Ikeja Sexual Offences & Domestic Violence Court sentenced one Folarin Rauf to life imprisonment for defiling a 5-year-old girl in Lagos. The judgment was passed by Honourable Justice Abiola Soladoye who found Rauf guilty of the offence of defilement. Rauf was arraigned in November 30, 2021, and the court held that the prosecution had proved and satisfied the three ingredients of defilement and the evidence of the victim was well corroborated.

The question is, what is “defilement”?

Defilement can be simply defined as having “sexual intercourse with a child under 18 years of age, whether or not the child gives consents”.

Under section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, defilement is defined as having sexual intercourse with a child. The Child’s Right Law of Lagos State is clear as to who a child is, and that is anyone under the age of 18 (section 260).

This offence is not gender specific. In other words, a young child (boy or girl) can be defiled by either a man or a woman. As long as an adult is having sexual intercourse with a child, the offence of defilement has been committed. Please, be reminded that unlike rape where the lack of consent is needed before the Courts can convict the accused, defilement does not need lack of consent. Even if a child consents to having sex with you, who is an adult (even if you are a day more than 18) you will still be guilty of defiling the child.

So, stop this nonsense of, “she/he is my friend”, “she/he knew what she/he was doing”, “she/he is not a child anymore”, “children of nowadays know more than you think”, “this one nor be small pikin na” “na she/he say make I come” “I nor know say she be small pikin” “see as e body big na, e resemble small pikin own?” You are clearly setting firewood with gasoline around yourself, with a matchstick in your hand. It is only a matter of time. In fact, if an “underage” person is enticing you, run for your life.

It is important to note that every state in Nigeria has its own Criminal Law governing it, and thus each state has its prescribed punishment for this offence. You might have to find out what the law of the state you reside in says. Also, there is the age difference, some states do not have “18” as its age of adulthood.

Just like Lagos state, Edo state has “life imprisonment” as its punishment for the offence. Kaduna state likewise has “life imprisonment” as its punishment for the offence. The difference between Kaduna state and Lagos state is the age and it is gender specific.

In Kaduna state, the applicable law is the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State 2017, and by virtue of section 257 (1) (e) of the Law, any man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 with or without her consent is liable to life imprisonment. This means that the offence can only be committed by a man (the law specifically mentioned “man”) against a girl under the age of 14 (again, the law specifically mentioned “girl”).
Therefore, if the girl in question is above 14 and she gives her consent, there is no defilement. Please note that sexual intercourse with a girl above 14 without her consent is defined as rape in Kaduna State and carries same punishment. There is a high chance that most Northern states in Nigeria might have similar provisions in their respective Penal Laws.

So, what then are the ingredients of Defilement? You know how when you are cooking a meal, there are certain ingredients that must be there before the said meal can come out good, that is how it is with defilement. The prosecution must establish certain ingredients, without it, the court cannot convict the accused. These ingredients include:
a. that the victim was underage by the law of that state,
b. that the victim was defiled (that is, if the victim is female, she was penetrated, if male, that he was penetrated or he penetrated), and lastly,
c. that it was the accused was identified as the person that defiled the victim.

All three ingredients must co-exist for the court to give a guilty verdict.

The conclusion is this, desist from having sexual intercourse with underage children, whether you think they are smart enough to know what they are doing or not. An underage child cannot give consent. Think about it na, sex for life imprisonment, it’s not worth it.