65-Year-Old landlord Receives Double Life Sentence for Sexual Assault on Children

On Monday, an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court handed down a double life jail term to a 65-year-old man, Igwe Ambrose, for digitally penetrating the private parts of his tenant’s children, aged seven and 11. Justice Abiola Soladoye ruled that the prosecution successfully established the four-count charge, which included sexual assault by penetration and indecent treatment of a child against Ambrose.

Judge Soladoye characterized the defendant as a reprehensible individual who, under the guise of assisting the children with their school homework, indecently touched their breasts and inserted his fingers into their private parts. She emphasized that the survivors’ testimonies, coupled with their mother’s account and the Investigating Police Officer’s findings, exposed the defendant as dishonest and lacking in credibility.

Upon the children confiding in their mother, the matter was reported to the husband, leading to a police investigation. Despite the defendant’s denial of the allegations at the police station, the court found the survivors’ accounts to be credible and corroborated by the evidence. Consequently, the judge convicted Ambrose on all four counts, citing violations of Sections 135 and 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The sentencing included life imprisonment for counts one and two, which pertained to sexual assault, and seven years each for counts three and four, related to indecent treatment of a child. In addition, the judge ordered that Ambrose’s name be entered into the Sexual Offences Register maintained by the Lagos State Government.

During the trial, the State Counsel, Olufunke Adegoke, presented four witnesses, including the survivors, their mother, and the Investigating Police Officer, who tendered five exhibits. The defendant testified in his own defense. The prosecution established that the offenses occurred between January and June 2021 at Shagari Estate, Ipaja, Lagos.