Appeals Court Acquits Optimal Cancer Care Director of Sexual Assault Charges
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has discharged and acquitted Dr. Olufemi Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation.
This decision follows a successful appeal against his conviction and life sentence for defilement and sexual assault of a minor, specifically his wife’s niece.
Justice Jimi Bada, who delivered the lead judgment adopted by the other two justices on the panel, stated that the trial court made an error by convicting Dr Olaleye based on “tainted” and “unreliable” evidence provided by his estranged wife, Oluremi, and the alleged victim (whose name has been withheld).
The appellate court identified significant contradictions in the evidence collected by the prosecution, which should not have been relied upon by the lower court.
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Justice Bada criticized other prosecution evidence presented during the trial, including testimonies from a child forensic specialist, a medical doctor from the Mirabel Centre, and the investigating officer, which were deemed “worthless.”
Justice Bada remarked that the trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, overstepped his role by interfering in the proceedings to fill the substantial gaps in the prosecution’s case.
In the judgment delivered on Friday, the Court of Appeal also questioned why the prosecution did not call key witnesses, such as two family members who were present during the appellant’s alleged confession.
Furthermore, the court noted that a trial within a trial should have been conducted to assess the voluntariness of the appellant’s confessional statements made while in police custody, which he claimed were given under duress after six days of detention.
Ultimately, the Court of Appeal resolved all five issues of appeal in favour of the appellant and against the prosecution.
