By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Special Offences Court, Ikeja, presided over by Justice Sholadoye, sentenced Ismail Adamu to seven years imprisonment for indecent treatment of a child.
In 2021, Ismail Adamu, a gatekman and shoemaker, attempted to rape an eight-year-old girl in Basic four who was five years old at the time of the incident.
According to the victim, her mother had sent her to Adamu, who was the gateman of the neighbouring house, to help them fetch water. Instead, Adamu carried her to his room, removed her pants and his, exposing his nakedness to her, which was considered an indecent act, and laid on her, but there was no penetration.
The victim further said she was able to escape because she screamed and threatened to report him to her mother. At that point, he freed her.
The judge stated that the mother was also to be blamed as she was negligent in sending a five-year-old child on such a dangerous errand.
The judge sentenced the defendant to seven years in prison, with the sentence to start counting from 30th June 2021, which was the date he was sent to the correctional centre.
