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Ekiti Court sentences 47-yr-old cleric to life imprisonment for defiling 13-yr-old girl
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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti Division, on Monday sentenced a 47-year-old cleric, Prophet Adeleye Akingbaso, to life imprisonment for defilng a 13 years old girl.
The convict was arraigned in September 2022 on a two-count charge bordering on rape and coercion.
The charge read, “The Prophet, sometime in July 2022, at Ado-Ekiti, did rape a 13-year-old girl. Also, in July 2021, Prophet Adeleye coerced the victim to engage in a sexual act to the detriment of her physical and psychological well-being.
“The offences are contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012 and Section 4 of the Ekiti State Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, No.18 of 2019,” the charge stated.
In her testimony before the court, the victim, who described the cleric as a friend to her mother and was sleeping over in their house, said that the man committed the act one night when her mother was on night duty.
She said, “He woke me up at midnight and said I bedwetted, which was strange to me. He brought out a bottle of shea butter and rubbed it on my vagina; that was all I knew. I later discovered I had been raped that night. He threatened me that he would curse me and I would die if I told anybody.
“He came to our house again on the following day when my mother was not around. I was in the kitchen, and he told me he wanted to complete what he started the previous night. He attempted to rough-handle me, but I escaped and shouted for help, following which our neighbours came to my rescue. They called and informed my mother of the incident. She came home and later reported the case to the police”, the victim said.
To proof his case, the prosecutor, Taiwo Ariyo, called four witnesses and tendered the statement of the victim and medical report as exhibits, while the defendant, who spoke in his own defence through his lawyer, Adelanke Akinrata, called no witness.
In the court judgment, Justice Blessing Ajileye found the cleric guilty on the two counts.
Ajikeye said, “In conclusion, this court has found the defendant guilty on the two-count charge of rape and coercion and convicted him accordingly. This will serve as a deterrent to others in the class of the defendant who has not been caught up by the nemesis of law.
“On count one (rape), the defendant is sentenced to life imprisonment and on count two (coercion), the defendant is sentenced to three years imprisonment. Justice Ajileye pronounced that both terms are to run concurrently.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has urged eligible Nigerians to take advantage of the remaining days of the Continuous Voter Registration, warning that the registration window will close on Sunday, July 26, 2026.
In a public notice issued on its X handle on Saturday, the electoral body reminded prospective voters that they could complete their registration online from start to finish through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration, CVR, exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the commission said.
INEC encouraged Nigerians who require assistance to visit any of its state offices, local government area offices, or designated registration centres to complete the process in person.
The commission also stated that all registration centres would remain open daily, including weekends, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. until the exercise ends.
“You can complete your voter registration online from start to finish via http://cvr.inecnigeria.org. If you need assistance, visit any INEC State Office, LGA Office, or designated registration centre to complete your registration in person,” the commission added.
The CVR exercise is part of INEC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections. It enables eligible Nigerians and those seeking to update their voter information to be included in the national register of voters.
Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has questioned why no government official has visited Boko Haram terrorists and bandits to negotiate an end to their violence, the way past leaders engaged Niger Delta militants.
He made the comparison in a Facebook post on Saturday, recalling how former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo both visited militants in the creeks to broker peace.
Gumi noted that both leaders, at different times, went into the creeks to meet militants and returned with programmes designed to end militancy in the region.
“The former President Jonathan visited Delta militants in the creeks, so also the former Vice President Osinbajo. They all came up with a program to tame the militants,” he wrote.
The cleric then asked who would extend similar engagement to Boko Haram and bandits terrorising parts of northern Nigeria without facing public backlash.
“Who is going to visit BH and Bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?” he asked.
Gumi has for years positioned himself as an advocate for dialogue with armed groups in the North-West and North-East, repeatedly visiting bandit camps in Zamfara and other states to hear their grievances.
He has consistently argued that negotiation, rather than military force, worked to end militancy in the Niger Delta and should be replicated in the North.
The cleric’s interventions have drawn both support and criticism. While some Nigerians accuse him of legitimising armed groups responsible for kidnapping, killings and cattle rustling, others credit his engagements with securing the release of kidnap victims.
The retired military officer has repeatedly denied backing terrorism, insisting his advocacy is aimed solely at ending the bloodshed through dialogue and rehabilitation.
The Niger Delta amnesty programme, launched in 2009 under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and sustained by Jonathan, saw thousands of militants disarmed in exchange for training, stipends and reintegration support. The programme significantly reduced attacks on oil infrastructure in the region.
Jonathan first waded into the Niger Delta crisis in 2007 as vice-president, entering the creeks without an armed detail to meet ex-militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as _Tompolo_, in Warri, Delta State.
He later said the meeting laid the groundwork for the amnesty programme granted to militants, which remains in place today.
Osinbajo similarly toured Niger Delta communities as acting president in 2017, engaging militants and traditional leaders directly.
He justified the outreach by arguing that those in the creeks were citizens with genuine grievances, not merely security threats.
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L-R: Managing Director, Enbay Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Mr Eniye Oweifie; Chairman, Obio-Akpor LGA, Dr Gift Worlu; Director Medical Services/Ag. Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu; Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor, Rivers State, Prof Ngozi Odu, during the groundbreaking/ foundation laying ceremony of the Riven Medical Industries Project at Rumuosi, Port Harcourt last Wednesday.
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