Tope Odeyemi, 35, was on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of rape by an Ado-Ekiti High Court.
The father of two was accused of sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman on September 4, 2014 at Iyin-Ekiti, inflicting grievous bodily harm on her for which she was hospitalised.
The judge, Adekanye Ogunmoye, while pronouncing judgment, said the conviction was based on the confessional statement of the accused and other corroborative evidence of the prosecution.
He held that the culprit was guilty as charged and that he must face the consequences of his action.
“He should face no other consequence than to go for life imprisonment,” the judge declared.
The judge, who observed that the act of rape is rampant in the state, said the sentence would serve as a deterrent to other potential rapists.
During trial, the prosecution, led by the state Attorney General, Owoseni Ajayi, told the court that the offence contravened Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Laws Cap C 16, Laws of Ekiti State 2012.
The prosecution called five witnesses to prove the case , while the defence counsel, Taiwo
Adeloye, called two witnesses.
Mr. Adeloye had urged the court to discountenance all the evidence of the prosecution against his client describing them as feeble and porous.
The accused claimed that the victim was his girlfriend, and because he refused to buy her a BlackBerry phone, lied against him.
But the prosecution counsel urged the court to convict Mr. Odeyemi based on the evidence laid before it.
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