By Bamidele Aremu
A Lagos-based pastor, Ndukwe Ogbu, 45, has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for raping his 14-year-old daughter. The Ikeja Special Offences Court found Ogbu guilty on three counts: sexual assault, defilement, and sexual assault by penetration. Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe handed down the verdict, citing irrefutable evidence presented by the prosecution.
The court was informed that Ogbu started molesting his daughter when she was 14 years old, repeatedly having sexual intercourse with her and threatening her into silence.
The survivor’s testimony was corroborated by a medical doctor and social worker, which further strengthened the prosecution’s case. During the trial, Ogbu pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, citing his responsibility for other children. However, Justice Abike-Fadipe noted Ogbu’s lack of remorse for his actions. Delivering the judgement, Justice Fadipe said: ” Based on the evidence presented before the court, the defendant is found guilty on all three counts. He is sentenced to three years on count one. On counts two and three, he is sentenced to 25 years each. The sentences shall run concurrently and will be effective from December 2019, when he was remanded in custody.”
Ogbu was arraigned in February 2021, and the legal proceedings officially began in October 2021. Over the course of the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and submitted evidence, while the defendant stood alone in his own defence.
In her testimony, the survivor told the court that Ogbu, her father, started molesting her when she was 14 years old. She told the court that Ogbu had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions and threatened her not to tell anybody.
The survivor said she later confided in her teacher in school who reported the case to the social worker. However, the defendant denied all the claims and insisted that he lived in the same apartment as the survivor, but she had her own room. Ogbu said his wife died when the children were little, and the rest stayed in the village with their grandmother on their mother’s side.
The survivor revealed that she eventually opened up to a teacher at her school, who then escalated the matter to a social welfare officer. In contrast, the accused firmly denied the accusations, stating that although he and the survivor lived in the same residence, she occupied a separate room. He also explained that his wife passed away when their children were still very young, and the remaining siblings were raised by their maternal grandmother in the village.
