Security & Crime
55-year-old lecturer accused of rape is cleared and released by the court
Dr. Ayinde Olukayode, a 55-year-old university lecturer, was accused of rape but was released and found not guilty by Judge Adekunle Adeleye of an Ado-Ekiti High Court.
Olukayode, an Ekiti State University (EKSU) lecturer, is currently on trial for alleged rape in violation of Section 31(c) of the Child’s Rights Law, Cap. C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
The lecturer had pleaded not guilty to the charge of raping a 12-year-old girl (names withheld) in August 2020 when she was arraigned on March 7, 2022.
According to Adeleye’s ruling, the prosecution witnesses’ inconsistent testimony had led the court to have doubts about their credibility.
According to the judge, the prosecution did not establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
As a result, he cleared Olukayode of the charge of rape due to insufficient evidence.
The defendant called five witnesses during the trial, compared to the prosecution’s four witnesses and four exhibits.
The victim testified in court that she did not alert anyone about the defendant’s alleged multiple occasions of having carnal knowledge of her. Nonetheless, the prosecution claimed through witnesses that the defendant had such knowledge.
According to the victim, her trousers had blood stains.
The doctor who examined the victim confirmed that her hymen was ruptured and that the girl’s external genitalia had a small, recent lesion without discharge.
The victim claimed that at a sensitization lecture given at Christ’s Girls School in June 2021 by a group led by the Ekiti State Attorney-General, she noted the helpline for the Ministry of Justice.
She claimed that the reason she confided in the person who owns the shop next to her guardian was so that she could use his phone to call the MOJ helpline.
According to reports, the man told one of her professors, who subsequently alerted the principal, who then got in touch with the Ekiti State Sexual Referral Center.
Olukayode is a father to everyone, according to the victim’s father, Olatunji Ojo, who appeared in court as a defence witness and spoke under oath.
In contrast, Olukayode argued that his erection failure prevented him from being in a position to engage in any sexual activity.
Eunice Olabisi, the defendant’s wife, also testified that her husband was unable to have intercourse with her despite having been romantically involved with her for the past five years and that this prevented him from committing the crime.
Mr. Oladele Adedeji, the defendant’s solicitor, claimed that the prosecution’s testimony did not establish a connection between the defendant and the commission of the alleged crime.
Adedeji pointed out that a medical examination should have been carried out right away to demonstrate how the girl’s hymen was damaged.
He urged the court to disregard the prosecution’s evidence because it was insufficient to prove the elements of the rape crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Due to a lack of proof, the solicitor asked the court to release and acquit his client and declare his innocence.
However, the prosecution asserted that it had established the defendant’s guilt through the testimony of witnesses beyond a reasonable doubt and pleaded with the court to find the defendant guilty as charged. The prosecution was led by a lawyer from the State Ministry of Justice named Ibironke Odetola.