Court jails homosexual 11 years for raping four minors

An Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun State yesterday sentenced a 26-year-old homosexual, Michael Kudowo, to 11 years for raping four male minors. The senior magistrate, Shotunde Shotayo, also ruled that the convict must serve the sentence at the correctional centre in Abeokuta, without any option of fine.

Shotayo also ordered that the four male minors (names withheld) and aged between 12 and 15 years should be taken to Borstal Training Institution, Abeokuta for reorientation.

Kudowo, who lives within Ile-Ita area, Ota, had pleaded guilty to the three-count charge of kidnapping, raping and having carnal knowledge of minors before his conviction. Earlier, the prosecutor, Insp. Cynthia Ejezie, told the court that Kudowo committed the offences between August 2018 and December 2019 in Ile-Ita area.

Ejezie said Kudowo had kidnapped the four minors from various locations in Sango-Ota, Mushin and Ijebu-Ode respectively, and kept them in his residence. The prosecutor said Kudowo had carnal knowledge of his victims through their anuses, adding that it was Kudowo’s landlord that discovered the incident after the convict had gone to work.

The prosecutor said Kudowo’s absence gave the landlord the opportunity to interrogate one of the minors. She added that Kudowo was arrested after the landlord had reported the case at Sango-Ota Police Station.

Ejezie said Kudowo at the police station confessed and admitted to having committed the crime. She said the offences contravened Sections 214(1), 216 and 365 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ogun, 2006.

Meanwhile, the family of one Wisdom Bekpa is crying for justice and calling on the government for action over their son, who was reported to be a victim of jungle justice meted. According to the elder brother of the deceased, Godwin Bekpa, Wisdom was lynched to death by some hoodlums for being gay.

He said: “My brother was caught in a bar in Ugbeyi Road, Sapele, Delta State, with his partner, one Jeffrey Obaro Ekpeyong on October 2, 2019, for kissing. Jeffrey fled the scene, but Wisdom was not so lucky. He was caught and beaten to a state of coma.

“Thereafter, a good Samaritan took him to a nearby hospital but unfortunately, he died two days later on October 4 was buried on November 16. Meanwhile, his partner, Jeffrey is being sought for by the hoodlums that masterminded the killing as he has since fled the area.”