A Lagos-based businessman, Emeka Orisakwe, has been handed three life sentences by the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court. The court found him guilty of defiling his three young daughters, aged eight, eight, and six.
During the trial, Justice Abiola Soladoye remarked that the prosecution had successfully proven the defendant’s three-count charge of sexual assault through penetration. She condemned Orisakwe’s actions, calling him both wicked and a pathological liar. The judge noted that he had falsely claimed his wife was mentally unstable in an attempt to deny the offense, which she described as bizarre and unfortunate.
Justice Soladoye criticized the defendant’s younger sister, who testified as the first defense witness (DW1), for presenting a medical report regarding the mental state of Orisakwe’s wife. The report did not align with the timeline of the incident, leading the judge to question its reliability. She accused DW1 of fabricating lies and manipulating the survivors to deceive the court.
While acknowledging the honesty of the children who testified, the judge concluded that their aunt, who they lived with after the incident, had influenced them to lie. She viewed the subsequent denial of the children’s initial statements at the Satellite Police Station, where they had reported the assault, as an afterthought.
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Justice Soladoye emphasized that the DW1’s evidence was self-serving, aimed at protecting her brother from the consequences of his actions. She deemed the medical report submitted by DW1 to be fraudulent, as it was dated after the incident occurred and was likely an attempt to mislead the court.
The judge further criticized the defendant and DW1 for attempting to manipulate the court’s decision by exploiting loopholes. She highlighted the medical reports, which showed evidence of forceful penetration and bruises on the survivors, as proof of Orisakwe’s guilt.
Based on the evidence presented, Soladoye convicted the defendant on all three counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment for each offense, to be served concurrently. Additionally, she ordered that his name be registered in Lagos State’s sexual offenses register.
During the trial, the state’s Deputy Director of Department of Public Prosecution, Mr. Olusola Soneye, presented seven prosecution witnesses and numerous documents, while the defendant and his sister testified for the defense. The prosecution stated that Orisakwe committed the offenses between January and July 2021 at No.32 Ganiyat St., Monkey Village, Maza Maza, Lagos.
The defendant’s actions were in violation of Section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
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