Court remands teenager for allegedly defiling neighbour’s daughter

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Friday ordered that Saheed Lawal, 19, who allegedly defiled his neighbor’s daughter, be remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Center.

The police charged Lawal, who resides in the Ijegun area of Lagos, with defilement.

Magistrate E. Kubeinje gave the order following a motion by the Prosecution Counsel, DSP Kehinde Ajayi, that the matter be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.

Kubeinje, who did not take Lawal's plea, directed the prosecutor to duplicate the case file and send it to the DPP for advice.

The magistrate adjourned the case until May 30, for further mention.

Earlier, Ajayi told the court that Lawal committed the first offense sometime in 2021 at his old residence, located at Adisa Oyedumade Street, Ijegun.

The offense, she said, contravened the provisions of Sections 137 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Supreme reports that Section 261 prescribes life imprisonment for defilement and sexual assault by penetration.