A Chief Magistrates’ Court, sitting in Yaba, Lagos has ordered that an Islamic teacher, Mosediq Toheeb (24), be remanded in prison custody for allegedly defiling a six-year old female pupil.
The defendant, who claimed to be a final year student of the University of Lagos, was arraigned on Wednesday in court..
The Islamic teacher charged for sexual violation of a minor allegedly defiled the minor while attending a Quranic school in Lagos.
The police prosecutor, Thomas Nurudeen, informed the court that the defendant defiled the victim on May 7, 2023, at the University of Lagos Central Mosque.
He further informed the court that the defendant had defiled a child before, saying this was his second time of being accused of sexually assaulting a minor.
The prosecutor said the offences are punishable under Sections 261 and 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015.
According to the charge: “That you, Mosediq Toheeb, on May 7, 2023, around 4.00pm at UNILAG Central Mosque, in the Yaba Magisterial District, did sexually assault one six-year old female (name withheld), who lives at No. 26, Femi Adebule Street, Fola Agoro, in the Somolu area of Lagos, by inserting your finger into her vagina and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2015.”
The prosecutor asked the court to remand the defendant for 30 days, pending legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecution.
Meanwhile, the defense counsel, Patrick Onochie, pleaded with the court to consider the defendant, saying he was a final year student of the University of Lagos and would be starting his final examinations in two weeks.
The Magistrate, Patrick Nwaka, who did not take the plea of the defendant, in his ruling, ordered that he should be remanded in prison.
The magistrate said there was no document before the court to show that the defendant was a student and in his final year or about to begin an examination.
He ordered that the case file be duplicated and sent to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice and copies of his school documents attached to the case file.
The magistrate, therefore, adjourned the case till June 19, 2023.
The victim’s mother earlier told the court that on the day of the incident, the child returned home from school with blood stains on her clothes and when asked what happened, she told her that her class teacher took her to a separate classroom, tied her mouth and hands and defiled her with a warning that she should not tell anybody.
