By Emeka Chiaghanam
Wisdom
Edem, a 27-year-old final-year Mass Communication student, has been sentenced
to 25 years in prison after a court found him guilty of raping a 10-year-old
girl he tricked into visiting his home under the pretence of filming a comedy
skit.
The
conviction was handed down on 5 August 2026 by the Children, Sexual and
Gender-Based Violence Court sitting at the High Court in Awka, Anambra State.
Justice Peace Otti found Edem guilty on three counts: rape, sexual abuse and
exploitation, and inflicting physical injury on a minor. Alongside the 25-year
sentence for rape, he received five years each for the remaining two charges,
contrary to Anambra State's Child's Rights Law and its Violence Against Persons
Prohibition Law.
The
case, tried under Charge No. A/3C/2024, unfolded through the testimony of the
young survivor herself. She told the court she had previously appeared in skits
with Edem, so when he invited her back, she didn't think twice — bringing her
younger sister along for company. Once there, he sent the sister home on the
pretext of collecting a change of clothes, then led the girl to a room where,
he told her, others were waiting to begin filming.
No one
was there. He locked the door behind them.
A
medical examination carried out that same day confirmed she had been injured
and was bleeding, evidence the examining doctor later verified under oath.
Six
witnesses gave evidence for the prosecution, led by Chinelo Akorah, Principal
State Counsel at the Anambra State Ministry of Justice. Among the most damning
pieces of evidence was Edem's own signed confession, which the judge said
corroborated the girl's account in every material respect — including the
detail that she'd arrived at his house with her sister.
In his
defence, Edem denied wrongdoing entirely, telling the court the child had
seduced him — that she had undressed him, initiated the act herself, and claimed
to be fourteen with a boyfriend already. The court gave this account short
shrift. Justice Otti pointed to the medical evidence of bleeding as proof the
girl had been a virgin, and reminded the courtroom of a principle enshrined in
law: a child cannot consent. The judge went further, describing the whole
scheme as calculated and deliberate. "He was not even paying the child for
the so-called comedy skit," she noted. "To add salt to injury, he
raped her."
Edem
had been out on bail throughout the trial and attended earlier hearings, but
was nowhere to be seen when judgment was delivered. Justice Otti proceeded in
his absence, as permitted under Anambra's Administration of Criminal Justice
Law, then immediately issued a bench warrant for his arrest. He has now been
declared wanted, with his photograph circulated to police and published online.
The
court didn't stop at prison time. In a striking additional order, judges
directed Edem's university to withhold his degree certificate until he has
served his full sentence. He was also ordered to pay ₦200,000 in compensation to his
victim for the injuries she suffered.
Justice
Otti ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt,
citing eyewitness testimony, strong circumstantial evidence, and the
defendant's own confession as decisive factors.
Prosecutor
Chinelo Akorah — who also serves as Public Relations Officer for the
International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) — has been widely commended
for securing the conviction.
For the
Anambra State Ministry of Justice, the outcome sends an unambiguous message.
Officials say the judgment underscores the state's zero-tolerance stance on
sexual and gender-based violence, and reaffirms a pledge to pursue perpetrators
with the full force of the law — whoever they are, and however elaborate their
deception.
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