Appeal Court acquits medical doctor convicted of defiling wife’s niece

The Court of Appeal has discharged and acquitted Dr. Olufemi Olaleye of the offences of defilement and sexual assault by penetration.
 
This followed his earlier conviction and sentencing to life imprisonment by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the High Court of Lagos State on October 24, 2023, for defilement and sexual assault by penetration of a minor, his wife’s niece.
 
Justice Jimi Bada, the presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in a unanimous decision, resolved all five issues as distilled by the appellant through his counsel, Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).
 
Pinheiro had led a team of lawyers on behalf of the appellant when the Appeal was heard on September 24, 2024.
 
The court held that the prosecution was unable to prove and establish the age of the alleged victim of the crime beyond reasonable doubt.
 
In upholding the arguments of the appellant as put forward by Pinheiro, the court held that the prosecution’s case was bereft of any credible evidence that the alleged victim was a child as the age of 16 years, being a borderline age, was not one which the court could determine by just seeing the witness.
 
The court held that credible and reasonable doubt had been created in the prosecution’s case in relation to age which is a critical ingredient for the offence of defilement.
 
The court in resolving issue two in favour of the appellant, condemned the approach of the trial court in admitting in evidence statements purportedly written by the appellant without conducting a trial within trial, notwithstanding the fact that the appellant had stated that the statements were not written by him voluntarily.
 
The court held that the failure to conduct a trial within trial was fatal to the prosecution’s case .
 
In its conclusion on issue two, the court held that the trial court was wrong in relying on the very statements which it had acknowledged was written by the appellant under duress in convicting the appellant.
 
While resolving issues 3, 4 and 5 together, the court held that none of the six witnesses adduced credible and reliable evidence in proof of the prosecution’s case.
 
The Court of Appeal in particular held that the wife of the appellant, Mrs Aderemi Olaleye, who had given evidence as PW1 at the trial court, was a tainted witness as it was apparent that she was motivated by greed and her desire to take over the appellant’s assets while he was in custody.     
 
The court referred to the evidence at the trial court where Mrs Olaleye had changed the ownership of the appellant’s car without his consent, as well as his signature mandate in respect of his account in a commercial bank.
 
The court also referred to documents which formed part of the records where Mrs Olaleye had pressured the appellant to sign off his house to her while he was in custody.
 
The court also held that Mrs Olaleye’s testimony was not only illogical but an affront to reason.
 
The court also held that the medical doctor’s evidence was impeached and unreliable.
  The Justice said: “This is what happens when instead of prosecuting an accused person, you are persecuting him.”
  The Court of Appeal held that from the record of appeal and the arguments canvassed, it was obvious and apparent that the trial court descended into the arena in the course of determining the charge before it.
 
The court held that the trial court had hinted the prosecution counsel the line of argument to proffer and interfered with the proceeding while assisting the prosecution to bridge the gap in its case. 
 
The Court of Appeal in allowing the Appeal set aside the conviction of Dr. Olaleye as was pronounced by the High Court of Lagos State and accordingly discharged him.