An FCT High Court in Bwari has dismissed the rape case instituted against the Senior Pastor of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Biodun Fatoyinbo.
The suit was instituted by Mrs Busola Dakolo, wife of musician Timi Dakolo, who accused Fatoyinbo of raping her while she was a teenager.
She had asked the court, through her lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, to compel Fatoyinbo to publish an apology to her on the front page of at least two national newspapers and two national TV stations for seven days running consecutively.
However, the clergy filed a preliminary objection to the suit through his lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), which was supported with an affidavit claiming that Busola’s statements were false and concocted to embarrass, scandalise and ridicule him.
While dismissing the suit yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Othman Musa, awarded a cost of N1 million against Busola to be paid to Fatoyinbo.
The judge held that the damage would have been 10 times more but the court considered that there are women with legitimate claims who may approach the court for justice.
It would be recalled that the social media was awash few months ago when Busola revealed in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, a lawyer and journalist, of how the Abuja-based cleric allegedly raped her as a teenager.
She alleged that Fatoyinbo had sexual intercourse with her on September 23 and September 26, 2002, which caused her continuous emotional distress.
The police had subsequently kickstarted investigation into the matter; however, the outcome of the investigation has not yet been made known to the public.
