Justice Abiola Soladoye of Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court in Lagos State has sentenced an Islamic teacher, Adam Farouk to life imprisonment for defiling eight (8) pupils.
The victims were between the ages of six and 11 and the crime was committed between November 2018 and February 2019 on Balogun Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi area of the state, according to Pulse.ng.
Farouk was arraigned by the Lagos State Government on eight counts of sexual assault after his arrest.
Justice Soladoye said the prosecution team proved beyond reasonable doubt that Farouk was guilty of all the eight counts bordering on sexual assault by penetration. She added that the consistency and demeanour of all the survivors in their testimonies showed that the convict had indeed abused them.
“The demeanour of the defendant is nothing to write home about; his stony face appears mischievous; he is extremely unkind and ruthless, fingering his students with his index fingers.
“He is meant to teach his students morals, discipline and values, but alas, the reverse is the case,” she bemoaned.
The minors identified the convict as their teacher who penetrated their private parts with his index fingers. He asked the pupils to turn their backs while he defiled them one after the other.
Justice Soladoye who could not believe that none other than a Muslim teacher in whose care the minors were placed could have abused them in such a heartless manner, called him a morally depraved man and an embarrassment to his faith.
“What an Islamic teacher, who took undue advantage of poor students in Islam and messed around with their purity and dignity.
“The dignity and safety of our students must be cherished. Dirty Islamic teacher of his kind must be locked away and made to pay for his dirty sexual indiscretions,” the disappointed judge said while delivering the life sentence on Farouk.
She urged the state government to pay critical attention to all schools within its jurisdiction to guard against unscrupulous sexual predators parading as teachers preying on innocent minors.