An Ogba, Lagos, chief magistrate court, yesterday ordered the remand in a correctional centre of a 56- year-old man, Ukah Chuka, for allegedly abducting and having unlawful sexual intercourse with an 11-year-old girl.
Police alleged that after Chuka abducted the girl, he took her to his house at Adeshiyan Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, and hid her there for some days without the knowledge of her parents.
The police prosecutor, Christopher John, urged the court not to grant the accused person bail, saying that the offence he committed was “sacrilegious”.
John told the court that the accused person lured his victim into his apartment and engaged her in sex between February 6 and 11, 2020.
“My Lord, the little girl was found in the accused person’s apartment after many days of searching for her,” he said, adding that upon the discovery, Chuka was arrested and dragged before the police at the Ilupeju Division.
The police said that the defendant, whom they described as “a married man”, told the police that the little girl was his lover.
Chuka’s plea was not taken after John asked the court to refer the matter to the Lagos State Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice, saying that the victim was still a minor.
The magistrate, Mr P. E. Nwaka, ordered the defendant to be remanded in prison custody without an option of bail.
Nwaka also directed the prosecutor to duplicate the file and send it to the DPP for advice, while the defendant should be kept in correctional custody, pending the outcome of the DPP’s advice.
The magistrate adjourned the case till March 18, 2020.
