A Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday sentenced a 27-year-old teacher, Bright Emelogu, to life imprisonment for sodomising his 14-year-old old student.
Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja held that Emelogu was amoral, callous, reckless and everything a teacher should not.
Mr Soladoye said that the convict inflicted physical, emotional and psychological trauma of the survivor.
Justice Soladoye noted that the survivor’s testimony was consistent with the evidence provided by the nominal complainant (the survivor’s aunt) and the medical report from Mirabel Medical Centre in Ikeja. The survivor testified that the defendant, who was his class teacher, had manipulated him by claiming that he was not performing well academically. The survivor’s aunt arranged for after-school lessons with the defendant, during which the defendant threatened to fail the survivor in his exams if he did not comply with his demands. The survivor eventually succumbed to the defendant’s coercion and followed him to the school toilet.
Based on the survivor’s credible and detailed account, as well as the straightforward testimony of the survivor’s aunt, Justice Soladoye found the evidence to be truthful and unambiguous, further strengthening the case against the defendant.
Justice Soladoye emphasized that the evidence presented in court, including the medical report, clearly demonstrated the extent of the survivor’s injuries, which were consistent with the act of sodomy and not related to any other medical condition. The judge dismissed the defense’s attempt to disprove the charges and highlighted that the prosecution had successfully proven each element of sexual assault by penetration against the defendant.
Regarding the defendant’s testimony, Justice Soladoye deemed it self-serving, untruthful, and contradictory. The judge pointed out that although the defendant denied writing a statement, his own confessional statement, which was admitted as evidence, contradicted his denial. The confessional statement (Exhibit A) played a crucial role in establishing the defendant’s guilt and was deemed sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
“This paedophile, Bright Emelogu, is a disgrace to the teaching profession and he must pay for his sexual indiscretions.
“Hopefully, this will also serve to other male teachers like him to desist from messing around with the innocence of their students,”
The judge, having found the defendant guilty of the one count charge, sentenced him to life imprisonment.
She ordered that the defendant has his name registered in the sexual offences register as maintained by Lagos State Government.
Mrs Soladoye called on school proprietors to be selective and conduct due diligence on their staff before recruiting them.
She said schools at all times should encourage students and pupils to speak up whenever they were sexually molested.
“I know they might be afraid to do so but this is to their own advantage as they can report same to appropriate authorities.
“Association of school proprietors as a matter of fact should hold conferences, meetings to encourage pupils and children to speak up.
“A teacher is to teach morals and impact knowledge but alas! this defendant is everything a teacher should not be,” Mrs Soladoye said.
The judge added that quality and dependable staff must be recruited in the teaching profession as the welfare of students must be upheld at all time.
The state counsel, Olufunke Adegoke called three witnesses while the defendant testified as sole witness.
The offence violated Section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015