An Ekiti High Court in Ado Ekiti sentenced two teachers to a combined 44-year imprisonment for raping their students.
Presiding Judge Adeniyi Familoni condemned Gbenga Ajibola (43) and Olaofe Ayodele (52) for crimes he described as acts of “reckless abandonment” of moral duty, rejecting leniency in a case that has shaken public trust in educational guardians.
The defendants, arraigned in March 2022 on three counts of rape and abuse of office, were found guilty of assaulting two female students, aged 15 and 17, in November 2019.
Prosecutor Kunle-Shina Adeyemi detailed how the teachers exploited their positions, luring the victims under false pretenses to a hotel in Ado Ekiti’s Oke-Ila district.
One survivor recounted in court: “Mr. Ajibola, my computer teacher, kept disturbing me in class. He gave me N200 and told me to wait near a filling station. When he and Mr. Olaofe arrived, we were taken to separate rooms… After that day, he wouldn’t stop harassing me until I told my mother.”
Evidence presented included medical reports, victim testimonies, and findings from a disciplinary panel, bolstering the prosecution’s case. Defense counsel Lawrence Fasanmi called six witnesses but failed to sway the court.
Justice Familoni, unmoved, emphasized the predators’ betrayal of trust: “They silenced their conscience while preying on these children. Such misdeeds demand severe sanctions to deter others.”
The sentence—20 years each for rape and two additional years for abuse of office, totaling 44 years to run concurrently—reflects Nigeria’s hardening stance under Section 31(2) of Ekiti’s Child Rights Law.
While the concurrent terms mean each convict will serve 22 years, the symbolic weight of the verdict resonates beyond the courtroom.
