A Lagos court has handed down a 53-year prison sentence to a 45-year-old pastor who repeatedly sexually assaulted his 14-year-old daughter, with the judge condemning his complete lack of remorse during proceedings.
Ndukwe Ogbu was convicted on Monday by Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe at the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja after prosecutors proved beyond reasonable doubt that he had defiled and sexually assaulted his teenage daughter.
The case, which began in February 2021 when Ogbu was first arraigned, concluded with the judge delivering a scathing assessment of the pastor’s conduct both during the crimes and throughout the trial process.
“The evidence presented leaves no room for doubt. The convict’s actions are reprehensible, and justice must be served,” Justice Abike-Fadipe declared during sentencing.
The judge specifically noted Ogbu’s disturbing attitude during proceedings, highlighting his lack of remorse and failure to show any genuine contrition for the crimes committed against his own child.
When Ogbu pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, claiming he had other children to care for, the judge found his appeal hollow given his demonstrated lack of genuine remorse for his actions.
The prosecution, led by the Lagos State government, had filed three separate counts against the pastor: sexual assault, sexual assault by penetration, and defilement of a 14-year-old girl.
During the trial that commenced on October 18, 2021, prosecutors called three key witnesses whose testimonies painted a disturbing picture of systematic abuse within the family home.
The first prosecution witness was social worker Femi Oyeleke, who had reported the case to police after learning of the abuse. The victim herself served as the second witness, while a medical doctor who examined the girl provided crucial corroborating evidence.
In her testimony before Justice Abike-Fadipe, the victim, who was 14 when the abuse began, provided graphic details of her father’s predatory behavior.
“He would come into my room naked, remove my clothes, and force himself on me. He threatened me not to tell anyone,” the victim told the court.
The teenager explained how the abuse continued over multiple occasions, with her father using threats to maintain her silence about the ongoing sexual violence.
The victim revealed that she eventually found the courage to confide in a schoolteacher, who then alerted social worker Oyeleke. The social worker subsequently reported the matter to police, leading to the pastor’s arrest and prosecution.
The medical doctor who examined the victim provided testimony that corroborated the girl’s account, offering clinical evidence that supported the allegations of sexual abuse.
Throughout her testimony, the victim maintained that her father had sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions while threatening severe consequences if she revealed the abuse to anyone.
Ogbu mounted a defense of complete denial, claiming he was not present when the alleged incidents occurred. Despite admitting that he lived with the victim in a two-bedroom apartment, he insisted on his innocence.
“I was not at home when these things happened,” Ogbu told the court during his defense.
In a particularly troubling aspect of his defense strategy, the pastor attempted to discredit his own daughter by claiming she was mentally unstable and suffered from memory problems.
Ogbu confirmed during proceedings that he had lost his wife when his children were young, and that his other children lived in their village with their maternal grandmother. He admitted it had been a considerable time since he had spoken with these other children.
However, Justice Abike-Fadipe found the defense arguments unconvincing when weighed against the compelling evidence presented by the prosecution.
The judge emphasized that the testimonies of both the medical doctor and social worker strongly corroborated the victim’s account of the abuse she endured.
“The victim was 15 years old when the alleged offence was committed. Exhibit P1 states the age of the witness, and the failure of the defence to cross-examine the witness as regards the age of the victim,” Justice Abike-Fadipe noted in her judgment.
The court found Ogbu guilty on all three counts brought against him by the state.
For the first count, Justice Abike-Fadipe sentenced him to three years imprisonment. On the second count, she imposed a 25-year sentence, while the third count carried another 25-year term.
The sentences, totaling 53 years, will run concurrently, meaning Ogbu will serve the longest single sentence of 25 years rather than the combined total.
The judge ordered that the prison term should be calculated from December 2019, when Ogbu was first remanded in custody, potentially reducing his actual time remaining to serve.