[News] 32-year-old married man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping 4-year-old girl in Akwa Ibom

An Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ibritam, Oruk Anam council area has sentenced one Akaninyene Sunday Ekwere,32, to life imprisonment for raping a 4-year-old girl.

Ekwere, a trader in engine oil, electrical appliances and recharge cards, reportedly lured the minor to his shop, where he defiled her.

The girl is said to be the last child in a family of five.

The mother of the victim discovered the bruises around her private part when she bathed her, prompting her parents to report the matter to the police.

In his confessional statement, Ekwere, who hails from Ikot Ibritam and is a neighbour to the victim, said he saw the minor playing outside the compound and invited her to his shop, where he rubbed vaseline oil on her private part and raped her.

In his judgment, Judge Nkereuwem Obot of Akwa Ibom State High Court held that Ekwere does not deserve to live in the midst of sane people as he is dangerous to society.

Obot found the accused guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The convict who is popularly called “Doctor” pleaded with the Court to have mercy upon him as he is a married man.

Under the Violence Against Persons  (Prohibition) Laws, 2020, rape carries life imprisonment in addition to the name of the victim being entered in the registrar of sex offenders in the state.