Court remands 50-year-old cleric for defiling teenage girl

A 50-year-old cleric, Lawrence Omoniyi, has been remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre by an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, on Thursday, for allegedly defiling a teenage girl. The defendant, whose church name is being withheld, resides at 4, Orisunbare St., off Tapa Road, Isawo Ikorodu, Lagos. Omoniyi is being tried for defilement. The Prosecutor, ASP Raji Akeem, told the court that the offence was committed between 2020 and December 2022 at the defendant’s residence. He added that the 15-year-old victim and the defendant reside in the same house in the said address. Akeem alleged that the girl confided in one of her sisters that the defendant had sexually assaulted her in the last two years. Akeem told the court that the defendant allegedly threatened to kill the victim if she told anyone. He said the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. However, the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Bola Osunsanmi, who did not take the defendant’s plea, adjourned the case until April 18 for the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.