A 42-year-old commercial motor Operator, Friday Moses, has been jailed 14 years for defiling and impregnating his 13-year-old daughter.
Moses and two other men were sentenced to various jail terms by the Evbuoriaria Magistrate’s Court in Benin, Edo State, for defiling minors.
The Chief Magistrate, J. O. Ejale, sentenced Moses to 14 years in prison with hard labour, without the option of fine.
The convict, who hails from Cross River State but resides in Edo State, was charged for defiling his daughter since she lost her mother five years ago.
The magistrate said Moses’ sentence was to serve as a lesson to the convict and other child molesters.
The victim is a Primary 6 pupil, who is five months and two weeks pregnant, the first among three children.
A statement from the state government said the teenage girl was presently in the protective custody of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for adequate care.
Two other men, Lambert Ighodaro (was jailed 14 years) and Benjamin Uzoma Nwachukwu (got a 20-year jail term).
Nwachukwu, according to the statement, was recently dismissed from the seminary. He was arraigned on a two-count charge and jailed 10 years for each count, with hard labour and without the option of fine.
Also, the court remanded Matthew Omokhafe (65) Pastor Matthew Braimoh (31), Corporal Michael Eriarebhe (33) and others in prison for allegedly defiling children aged 15 years and below.
The Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, which has been in the forefront of the campaign against paedophiles, said the landmark judgement was the culmination of a long-drawn battle for justice for the affected minors.