The Ikeja Magistrates’ Court in Lagos remanded a 30-year-old man, Henry Ukwueze, for defiling a nine-year-old girl.
The magistrate, A.O. Ajibade, who did not take the defendant’s plea, ordered that he should be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
Ms Ajibade, however, directed the police to send the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.
She adjourned the case until December 29 to receive the DPP’s advice.
The police arraigned Mr Ukwueze, who resides in Emma Akuju Estate, Isashi, Lagos, on charges of defilement and sexual assault by penetration.
The prosecution counsel, Kehinde Ajayi, told the court that the defendant committed the crime on October 21 at his residence.
“The defendant had canal knowledge of the girl and begged her not to tell anyone. The girl, however, narrated how the defendant forcefully had canal knowledge of her to her mother,” the police officer stated. “The case was reported at the police station, and the defendant was arrested.”
She added that the crime violated sections 137 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.