Nigerian Man Jailed Two Years For Sexual Assault After Telling UK Victim “Such Behaviour Is Normal In Nigeria”

A 36-year-old Nigerian man has been sentenced to two years imprisonment by Liverpool Crown Court for sexually assaulting a teenage care worker at a Warrington residential home.

Emmanuel Onwubiko was found guilty on five counts of sexual assault following a five-day trial last month. He was also ordered to sign the sex offender register for 10 years.

The court heard that Onwubiko, who had lectured in further education in Nigeria and came to the UK on a student visa, assaulted the 17-year-old victim while working as an agency care worker on January 1, 2024.

During the attacks at the residential home where they worked together caring for dementia patients, Onwubiko repeatedly touched the teenager inappropriately, including touching her breast, bottom, and vagina on separate occasions.

When the victim became upset, Judge Gary Woodhall told the court that Onwubiko “said that such behaviour was normal in Nigeria and women there would not report it.”

“You were trying to put pressure on her,” Judge Woodhall told Onwubiko during sentencing on Friday, June 13, 2025.

The psychological impact on the victim was severe. The court heard that the distressed teenager had a full immersion baptism to try to cleanse herself after the assault, something she had planned to do later with family and friends present.

“I am a Christian and being baptised is a big deal for me. I always thought it would be the best day of my life, surrounded by family and friends,” the victim, now 18, said in her impact statement.

“Out of pure desperation” she organized the baptism quickly without telling anyone. “I wanted to feel clean. I feel like I’ve ruined everything and feel really sad that my family was not there to support me.”

The victim was unable to continue working at the home due to panic attacks and depression, leaving her in debt. “I feel he has ruined my life and destroyed me as a person,” she told the court.

During the final assault, the victim hid in a toilet and messaged an off-duty colleague, saying she was too frightened to make a complaint. She later went to her grandmother’s home and told her what happened, leading to police being notified.

Onwubiko’s defense lawyer argued for a suspended sentence, claiming he needed to work as a warehouseman to pay off a loan in Nigeria, as his wife and three children had been threatened with harm if the debt wasn’t paid.

However, Judge Woodhall said “the only appropriate punishment was an immediate jail term.”

The case also involved violence from the victim’s father, who punched Onwubiko several times after learning of the assault. The father was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, after Onwubiko required emergency brain surgery for a subdural hemorrhage caused by the attack.

Onwubiko, of Derwent Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, had no previous convictions but disputed all the victim’s claims during the trial.