An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday acquitted a 26-year-old cleaner, Charles Etuk of child defilement offence.

Justice Abiola Soladoye acquitted the defendant following the failure of the alleged 13-year-old victim to testify in court.

In a virtual judgment on Thursday, the court held that there was no direct evidence linking the defendant to the alleged crime to warrant a conviction.

According to the trial judge “There is no circumstantial or direct evidence linking the defendant to the crime. The victim did not testify in this case and the evidence of Sgt. Lama was not corroborated and non-compelling.

“The defendant cannot be convicted on it alone.”

Justice Soladoye held that the evidence of the sole prosecution witness, was a repetition of what he was told by the victim of this case and her mother.

She also noted that there was also no medical evidence before the court to convict the defendant adding that the the prosecution of this case was a waste of precious judicial time.

“I find you Charles Etuk not guilty as charged contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015,”Justice Soladoye said.

Defence counsel, Mr Kelechi Obi, in his response, thanked the court for “a well considered judgment”.

Earlier, the prosecution, Mrs Arinola Momoh-Ayokanbi, had told the court that Etuk committed the offence sometime in April 2017 at No.16, Aina St., Sogunle, Lagos.

Etuk was alleged to have committed the offence child defilement by inserting his finger into the private part of the 13-year-old daughter of his neighbour contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015.

During the trial, the prosecution opened its case on April 8, 2019 and had presented a sole witness, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Sgt. Lama Bolaji.

The policeman in his evidence told the court that sometime in October 2017, the police had come to arrest the defendant’s home to arrest his brother over alleged defilement and the alleged victim who had witnessed the arrest had asked her mother the reason why Etuk’s brother was arrested.

When her mother told her why the defendant’s brother was arrested, the daughter opened up and alleged that the defendant did the same to her earlier in April.

The victim claimed that the defendant had sent her to buy a drink for him and when she returned from the errand, he grabbed her and put his penis into her vagina.

“On interrogation, the defendant denied inserting his penis into her private part but admitted using his finger,” the IPO said.

Etuk , in his defence, denied all the allegations in court.