Adam Farouk, an Islamic teacher, was given a life sentence for defiling eight of his students on Tuesday by Justice Abiola Soladoye of an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offenses Court in Lagos State.
Between November 2018 and February 2019, Farouk defiled the students, who ranged in age from six to eleven, on Balogun Street in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The Lagos State Government filed eight counts of sexual assault against the defendant, which led to the convict’s arraignment.
While delivering judgment, Justice Soladoye stated that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the ingredients of the eight counts bordering on sexual assault by penetration.
The convict, according to Soladoye, is morally depraved and a disgrace to Islam.
The judge ruled that the survivors’ testimony was reliable and truthful and added that their manner during the trial demonstrated that they were telling the truth.
She claimed that the students’ testimony had been verified since they had named the convict as their teacher who had poked their privates with his index fingers.
The 10th prosecution witness, Mrs. Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a midwife with the Women at Risk International Foundation, testified, according to Soladoye, that the students had vaginal injuries.
The judge further ruled that the defendant asked the students to turn around while he defiled each one of them individually.
Justice Soladoye ruled that although the convict had lied to the jury during the trial, the jury had not been duped.
She said, “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.
“What an Islamic teacher, who took undue advantage of poor students in Islam and messed around with their purity and dignity.
“He is meant to teach his students morals, discipline and values, but alas, the reverse is the case.
”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 judge urged the government of Lagos State to appropriately oversee educational institutions.
She also advised Muslim communities to routinely pay unannounced visits to Islamic institutions to seek direct input from students and parents on the courses taken and behavior of their instructors.
“The need for this can never be overemphasised in view of the rampant scenes of this heinous crime.
“I salute the courage of the survivors for speaking up against the defendant without any fear of intimidation.
“Abused children are to be encouraged to speak up so that their assailants will be shamed and sanctioned accordingly.
“A teacher is a role model, setting the pace and leading by example as he is expected to impact knowledge and morals, but this defendant is nothing of such as he threw caution to the wind and messed around.
“On the testimonies of each of the prosecution witnesses and that of the sole defence witness, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
“The defendant is hereby convicted of all the charges and sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the eight counts, but the sentences shall run concurrently,” Soladoye added.
The convict’s name was also ordered to be entered into Lagos State’s Sexual Offenders Register by the judge.
During the trial, the defendant was the only witness for the defense; the prosecution summoned ten witnesses.
