The Appeal Court, Lagos Division, on Friday nullified the rape conviction of Dr Olufemi Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation.
Olaleye was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his wife’s niece.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court had on October 24, 2023, convicted and sentenced Olaleye to life imprisonment for raping his wife’s teenage niece.
But the appellate court discharged and acquitted Olaleye after finding the judgement of the trial court to be faulty.
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The court found that there were material contradictions in the evidence presented by the prosecution, which should not have been relied upon by the lower court.
Delivering the judgement on Friday, the lead judge of the three-judge panel, Justice Olukayode Bada, said that the trial court had erred in convicting Olaleye based on the “tainted” and “unreliable” evidence of his estranged wife, Oluremi, and the alleged survivor (names withheld).
The court said, “The prosecution’s case was bereft of any credible evidence that she was a child. Credible and reasonable doubt was created in the prosecution’s case.
“It is on record that the trial court concluded on the age of the victim based on the evidence of witnesses, even though none gave evidence of experiencing PW2’s birth.”
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