Adam Farouk was given eight life sentences in jail on Tuesday by an Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court for defiling eight students in his class.
At the time of the offence, the students ranged in age from six to eleven.
According to Justice Abiola Soladoye, the prosecution established the elements of the eight-count charge involving sexual penetration beyond a reasonable doubt.
The priest was labelled a moral failure and a disgrace to the Islamic faith by Soladoye.
The court, according to the judge, did not believe his lies.
She claimed that the students’ testimony was supported by the fact that they recognised the cleric as their teacher who had used his index fingers to pierce their vaginas.
The 10th prosecution witness, Mrs. Oluchi Nwoke-Okoi, a midwife with the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF), testified that the students suffered vaginal injuries, according to Soladoye’s ruling.
The judge further ruled that the defendant asked the students to turn around while he defiled each one of them individually.
She said: ”The demeanour of the defendant is nothing to write home about, his stony face appears mischievous, he is extremely unkind and ruthless, fingering his students with his index fingers.
”What an Islamic teacher, who took undue advantage of poor students in Islam and messed around with their purity and dignity.
”He is meant to teach his students morals, discipline and values, but alas, the reverse is the case.
”The dignity and safety of our students must be cherished. Dirty Islamic teacher of his kind must be locked away and be made to pay for his dirty sexual indiscretions.”
The judge urged the government of Lagos State to appropriately oversee educational institutions.
She also advised Muslim communities to frequently pay unannounced visits to Islamic schools to gain direct input on what students and parents think about the teachers’ actions and conduct.
”The need for this can never be over-emphasised in view of the rampant scenes of this heinous crime.
”I salute the courage of the survivors for speaking up against the defendant without any fear of intimidation.
”Abused children are to be encouraged to speak up so that their assailants will be shamed and sanctioned accordingly.
”A teacher is a role model, setting the pace and leading by example as he is expected to impact knowledge and morals, but this defendant is nothing of such as he threw caution to the wind and messed around.
”Reviewing the testimonies of each of the prosecution witnesses and that of the sole defence witness, I am convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
”The defendant is hereby convicted of all the charges and sentenced to life imprisonment on each of the eight counts, but the sentences shall run concurrently,” Soladoye said.
The convict’s name was also ordered to be entered into Lagos State’s Sexual Offenders Register by the judge.
During the trial, the defendant was the sole witness for the defence; the prosecution called ten witnesses.
According to the prosecution, the offences were committed by the defendant on Balogun Street in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos, between November 2018 and February 2019.
Section 261 of the Lagos State 2015 Criminal Laws prohibits sexual assault.
