A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, has sentenced a 33-year-old woman, Moradeke Adeoti, to three years imprisonment for violating the state’s Child Rights Law by engaging a minor in street hawking and subjecting her to abuse.
The conviction came after Adeoti was arraigned before the court on November 29, 2024, on a one-count charge of involving an 11-year-old girl, identified as Oyindamola Adeoti, in hawking activities along public roads, an act considered unlawful under Section 30(2) of the Ekiti State Child’s Right Law, 2019.
According to the charge sheet, the offence was committed on November 22, 2024, at Ado Ekiti, where the defendant was accused of deploying the young girl, who is said to be her cousin, to sell goods including pepper and palm wine on the streets, particularly during school hours.
During the court proceedings, a key witness, Bosede Oso, who is the defendant’s landlady, testified that the young girl had long been subjected to domestic servitude, while Moradeke’s biological children were enrolled in school. “I’ve been observing how she treats that little girl like a slave. The girl would hawk various items, even in dangerous areas like highways, while her own children attended school. We tried to advise her several times, but she refused to listen,” Oso told the court.
She further narrated that an individual once offered to assist by enrolling the victim in school, but the gesture was turned down by the defendant. Matters worsened when, on November 24, 2024, the girl was reportedly hit by a motorcycle while hawking in the Omisanjana area of Ado Ekiti. She sustained injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital. The incident prompted neighbours to alert law enforcement authorities.
Inspector Adeoye Adesegun, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the police, presented evidence including the defendant’s confessional statement, the complaint filed by a concerned party, and the hospital’s medical report on the victim’s injury.
In her defence, the accused, through her legal representative, Barrister Opeyemi Esan, pleaded with the court for leniency. She claimed ignorance of the Ekiti State Government’s policy against child hawking and insisted that her intention was to raise funds to eventually enroll the girl in school.
However, Chief Magistrate Olatomiwa Daramola, in delivering judgment, noted that the prosecution had proven the case beyond reasonable doubt. The court held that the defendant had clearly admitted to sending the girl out to hawk pepper and palm wine, a practice that not only endangered the child but also contravened established laws protecting children’s rights in Ekiti State.
In her words, Magistrate Daramola declared: “The prosecution has established the offence against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. I find her guilty as charged and convict her accordingly.”
The court then handed down a sentence of three years imprisonment with hard labour. However, the convict was given the option of a fine of N20,000 in lieu of serving the jail term.
The judgment serves as a stern reminder of the state’s zero-tolerance stance on child abuse, and the Ekiti State Government has continued to warn residents against exploiting minors for commercial or domestic purposes, especially during school hours.
