The charge read, “That you, Tobi Owajulu, on June 12, 2021, at Ibeji-Eluja, in Emure Ekiti, in the Ado Ekiti Judicial Division, did rape a 17-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31 of the Child Rights Law, Cap. R7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”
In her testimony before the court, the victim said, “I am an apprentice as a hairdresser. On that day, I went to my grandmother’s farm to harvest pepper. On the farm, the man came to me and demanded water and palm fruits, and I told him I did not have water, while the palm fruits belonged to my grandmother.
“Thereafter, he left, came back later and suddenly held me at the back. He covered my mouth with a piece of cloth, as I struggled to shout. But he overpowered me despite holding a cutlass and raped me on the farm. “He also flogged me with cassava sticks for wasting his time. I was crying and left the farm. It was passersby who saw me that took me to a hospital and later informed my parents.”
The police prosecutor, Taiwo Ajibulu, called five witnesses and tendered the statements of the defendant, a medical report, pants, tight and shirts as exhibits.