Group applauds Justice Nwaka over 60-year jail term for paedophile

A human rights and good governance advocacy group, Make A Difference Initiative (MAD), has applauded Justice Sybil Nwaka for imposing a 60-year jail term on a paedophile, Adegboyea Adekan, who raped a two-year-old girl.

Justice Nwaka of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Unit imposed the historic sentence after finding Mr Adenekan guilty of child defilement.

In a statement Friday, the Communication and Advocacy Director of MAD, Lemmy Ughegbe, said, “Justice Nwaka deserves our plaudits for her courage and sensitivity in imposing a historic jail term on the former supervisor of a school.”

Mr Ughegbe noted that “until now, magistrates and judges have been handling sentencing of paedophiles and other sex offenders with kid’s gloves by imposing ridiculously low jail term.”

However, he expressed optimism that “the 60 year sentence imposed on Adenekan by Justice Nwaka would open the vista for judicial officers to take sentencing of sex offenders more seriously going forward.”

“It is our firm position that rape and defilement should attract a life sentence if we are to curb this menace, which always leaves the victim and his / her society with grave psycho-social consequences,” he stated.

He called on heads of courts nationwide to “as a matter of deliberate policy and practice bring in more women to handle cases around rape, defilement and sundry sexual offences because they are better wired to appreciate such situations.”

He also advocated the establishment of special courts in states to deal expeditiously with allegations sexual offences

While delivering her verdict, Justice Nwaka described Mr Adenekan, as “wicked, conscienceless and an animal who is not worthy of walking on the streets of Lagos.

“Schools should not cover up teachers who sexually abuse children. Parents should not be carried away by aesthetics of schools.

“This case may just be the tip of the iceberg as a lot of our children are suffering in silence,” Justice Nwaka ruled.