KINGSLEY EBERE
A 39-year old Togolese bricklayer, Friday Tunde, has been remanded at the Awka Correctional Centre by a Children Sexual and Gender-based Violence Offences Court in Awka, Anambra State, over allegations of defilement and getting the 17-year old victim pregnant.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that the incident happened at Umudioka in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
The prosecutor, Inspector Chinyere Okechukwu, told the Court that the defendant, a Togolese national, impregnated the victim while she was living with her mother.
According to the prosecutor, the girl’s mother became aware of the pregnancy and subsequently sent her to live with the father.
The victim informed her father how she became pregnant and the father reported the matter to the Police. The report led to the arrest and arraignment of the defendant.
The prosecution stated that the alleged act contravened Section 3(2) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition and Protection Law of Anambra State, 2017.
The defendant pleaded not guilty and gave his own account of events.
He told the court that the girl had informed him she was 19 years old. He further stated that he and the girl had been in a relationship since June 2025. He maintained that he acted based on the age she disclosed to him.
The prosecutor then applied for the remand of the defendant at the correctional centre. She cited Section 130(2)(a)(b) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Anambra State, 2022, as the basis for the application.
The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. U.E. Onochie, ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Awka Correctional Centre pending further hearing.
The court adjourned the case until 10th June, 2026, for hearing.
