Following the acquittal of Lagos-based Dr Femi Olaleye by the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal, the State Government has requested the Supreme Court to overturn the intermediate court’s decision which cleared the medical doctor/ Managing Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation of defilement charges. Olaleye was said to have sexually abused his wife’s niece.
In its Notice of Appeal filed by the state Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr. Babajide Martins, the state urged the apex court to allow the appeal and uphold the conviction and sentencing imposed by the trial court.
Olaleye was convicted in October 2023 by the Lagos Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court on two charges bordering on child defilement and sexual assault by penetration.
These charges were filed against him by the Lagos Ministry of Justice in November 2022.
However, in November 2024, the Court of Appeal acquitted Olaleye, citing errors in the lower court’s judgement.
The appellate court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada, found that the trial court had interfered with proceedings in a way that compromised the integrity of the prosecution’s case.
It ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution was “tainted” and “unreliable,” leading to the reversal of the doctor’s conviction.
Following the decision, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) urged the Lagos State government to appeal the acquittal.
Read Also: Lagos doctor, Femi Olaleye, freed weeks after Appeal Court nullified his rape conviction
They petitioned the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), calling for the case to be taken to the Supreme Court to restore public confidence in the justice system.
On December 27, 2024, the Lagos State government filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, seeking to reverse the Court of Appeal’s acquittal of Olaleye.
The state’s grounds for appeal included the claim that the appellate court erred in disregarding Section 209(2) of the Evidence Act, 2011, and the Supreme Court decision in Dagaya v. State (2006).
The state argued that the sworn evidence of a child over the age of 14 required corroboration, as stipulated by Section 209(3) of the Evidence Act, 2011, which mandates corroboration for the testimony of children under 14 in defilement cases.
In addition, the state sought the following reliefs, “An order allowing the appeal and setting aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on November 29, 2024.
“An order affirming the conviction and sentences imposed on Olaleye by the trial court in Charge No. ID/20289C/2022.”
