By
David Augustine
An
Akwa Ibom state High Court, Uyo Judicial Division, has sentenced one Mr. Godwin
Ime Alex to life imprisonment without the option of a fine. The court presided
over by Hon Justice G. E Archibong, while delivering his judgment at Uyo on
Wednesday, October 11, 2017, said that the prosecution had in the course of the
trial proved the charge of rape beyond all reasonable doubts, in the
information filed by the state, and therefore found him guilty on the first
count of rape. On the second count of stealing, the accused person was
discharged for want of evidence.
Mr.
Godwin Ime Alex, had on November 25, 2014 along Abak road dragged one Miss
Nancy Michael Ekefre, to the back of the Corpers lodge and forcefully had canal
knowledge of her. In her evidence before the court, Miss Ekefre, who testified
as PW1 said she was returning from a visit to a friend on the said date when
she passed a narrow road and was accosted by Alex, who was pretending to be
defecating. She said that Alex threatened to shot her if she did not cooperate
with her and dragged her into the bush behind the Corpers lodge where she said
she was ordered to hold the fence, while Alex unloosened her belt and her
trousers and had sex with her without her consent.
The
prosecution had tendered a confessional statement made to the police by Alex
where he confessed to have Pulled her to somebodys backyard where there was a
fence. Continuing, Alex said, I ordered her to hold the fence and inserted my
penis into her virgina and sexed her
The court noted that an accused person can be convicted under three evidential
conditions, with each or a combination of two or all can suffice. These
conditions include testimony of an eye witness, confessional statement of an
accused person and circumstantial evidence.
The court further listed the
ingredients of rape to include, that a man must have had canal knowledge of a
woman without her consent, or that consent was obtained under duress,
intimidation, fear, impersonation, or false pretences; that there must have
been penetration; that the woman was not his wife; and that evidence of the
complainant must be corroborated.
The
court held that the evidence of the PW1 was adequately corroborated by the
confessional evidence of the accused person, even though he recanted his earlier
extra-judicial statement made to the police. The court noted that the said
statement was admitted in evidence without the accused person raising any
objection against the statement, on the condition that it was obtained under
oppression.
The court further noted that a recant of a confessional statement
does not render the confessional statement inadmissible, adding that a
confessional statement when direct, positive and unequivocal, is capable of
grounding a conviction and as such could amount to adequate corroboration. The
court therefore held that the story the accused person told in court during his
evidence in chief was not reliable as he had at no time proved that his
statement at the police station was obtained under any influence.
The
court pointed out that the ingredient of penetration had been proved by both
the PW1s evidence and the accused persons confessional statement, wherein he
confessed to have put his penis in the complainants vargina and sexed her.
The court further held that the burden of none consent was also discharged by
the prosecution, relying again on the evidence of the PW1 and the confessional
statement.
On
the charge of stealing, the court observed that the prosecution must have
abandoned that count as it made no effort to lead any evidence to prove the
count and therefore discharged the accused person on that count for want of
evidence.
During
allocution, the accused person, Godwin Ime Alex, pleaded with the court to have
mercy, as he has realized that what he did was wrong. His Counsel also urged
the court to temper justice with mercy as the accused person was a first
offender and had shown remorse.
The
presiding judge in his sentence observed that considering the graphic
description of how he raped the PW1 in his confessional statement it was easy
to conclude that the accused person was a callous and heartless rapist, who
deserves the maximum sentence for his offence. The judge further Said that the
psychological trauma the victim of rape must have passed through also weighs in
heavily on the sentence of the accused person and accordingly sentenced him to
Life imprisonment without any option of a fine.
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