By Temitope Adedeji
A High Court sitting in Akure has sentenced one Kolawole Apoti to life imprisonment for having sex with his teenage niece and three other girls.
His niece was said to have lured other teenage girls to his house where he forcefully had sex with them and gave them N100 afterwards.
According to his confession, he said he has been having sex with his niece for a long time before she started luring other victims to him.
All the victims are students of St Michael Catholic High School, Akure.
Trouble started when the girls fought over the money he gave to one of them and the matter was reported to the school principal.
One of the victims, in a statement written during the trial, said, ”The man struggled with me to remove my pant. He slept on me and penetrated into my private part.
“Something like water came out which he used red cloth to clean up.
“Thereafter, the man gave me N100 and warned me not to tell my parent otherwise i would die. I forgot a pair of my stock in his room. When I went back for it, he slept with me again.”
Four witnesses including Vice Principal, Administration of St. Michael Catholic High School, Mrs. Ayibiowu Caroline Oluwatomisin, were called by the prosecution led by Bunmi Koyenikan.
The girls said they did not tell their parents that they were raped over fear of death threat by the accused.
Kolawole denied the allegation of unlawful sexual intercourse. According to him the girls consented to the sexual intercourse after which he gave them money.
However, the court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant raped the girls who are actually children.
The trial judge, Justice Olutoyin Akeredolu, found him guilty as charged and sentenced Kolawole to life imprisonment.
