An Imo State High Court has sentenced a 42-year-old pastor, Samuel Ehirim, to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a minor.
Gatekeepers News reports that delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice C.O. Chukwumaeze ruled that the prosecution proved its case “beyond reasonable doubt,” holding that the evidence presented before the court clearly established the defendant’s guilt.
Ehirim was arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on sexual assault, assault with intent to commit an unnatural offence, indecent treatment of girls under the age of 13 and assault, contrary to the provisions of the Imo State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law No. 8 of 2021 and the Criminal Code.
In the judgment, Justice Chukwumaeze said the evidence before the court “overwhelmingly” showed that Ehirim committed the offences. She added that the defence failed to discredit the prosecution’s witnesses or raise any reasonable doubt during the trial.
The court also found that the victim, who had been living with the convict, was subjected to repeated sexual abuse.
Although defence counsel S.E. Ibechem, holding the brief of D.O. Agbo, appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy, the judge convicted Ehirim on all five counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Reacting to the verdict, counsel to the Imo State Ministry of Justice, Ikenna Obi, described the conviction as a major milestone in the enforcement of the state’s Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law.
According to Obi, the judgment underscores the government’s commitment to protecting children and other vulnerable persons from sexual and gender-based violence.
He added that the life sentence should serve as a strong warning to perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence, while commending the court for what he described as a landmark judgment that would strengthen efforts to curb such offences in the state.
