LAGOS COURT DISCHARGES AND ACQUITS MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING DAUGHTER

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By: Hammad Fasasi

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday discharged and acquitted Taiwo Oyelabi, who was standing trial for allegedly raping his 21-year-old biological daughter.

Delivering judgment, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that the prosecution failed to establish the rape allegation against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.

Oyelabi was arraigned on a one-count charge of rape, contrary to Section 260 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The prosecution alleged that the defendant had unlawful sexual intercourse with his daughter, whose name was withheld, sometime in November 2017 at Community Road, Obadore, Igando, Lagos.

Justice Oshodi said the prosecution called only one witness, ASP Iyabo Bakare, who was attached to the Igando Police Station.

According to the judge, Bakare testified that the police received information on April 16, 2018, alleging that a man was having sexual relations with his biological daughter.

The police officer said she and her superior visited the location and subsequently took the defendant and his daughter to the station.

She also told the court that the daughter made a statement alleging that her father had been having sexual intercourse with her since she started living with him.

Bakare further testified that Oyelabi admitted having an affair with his daughter and impregnating her.

However, the court rejected the defendant’s written confessional statement after conducting a mini-trial, ruling that it was not obtained in compliance with Section 9(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Justice Oshodi noted that although the prosecution established that the defendant had sexual intercourse with his daughter, it failed to prove that the act was without her consent.

He explained that the daughter, being the only person who could directly tell the court whether she consented to the sexual activity, was not called to testify.

The judge further ruled that the police officer’s account of what the daughter allegedly told her constituted hearsay and could not be relied upon to establish the absence of consent.

“The evidence shows that the defendant had sexual intercourse with his daughter. It does not show that he raped her,” Oshodi said.

He emphasised that the prosecution was required to prove every element of the offence of rape beyond reasonable doubt, stressing that no defendant could be convicted based on suspicion, regardless of how serious the allegation might be.

The judge also raised concerns about the defendant’s prolonged detention, noting that he had remained in custody since his arrest on April 16, 2018, and spent more than eight years awaiting the conclusion of the trial.

Oshodi commended the defence counsel, Mr Onome Akpeneye, for providing legal representation to the defendant pro bono since his arraignment on December 9, 2021.

Consequently, the court held that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge and found Oyelabi not guilty, discharging and acquitting him.