THE Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Dr Olufemi Olaleye, has asked the Court of Appeal to set aside his conviction by the lower Court over the alleged rape of a minor.
According to media reports, Olaleye, in a notice of appeal filed by his lawyer, Dr Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, said that the Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court was wrong to have relied on the evidence presented by the prosecution against him.
Recall that the Court presided over by Justice Rahman Oshodi in charge number ID/20289C/2022, sentenced Olaleye to life imprisonment on October 24, 2023, for the alleged defilement of his wife’s niece, who claimed to be 16 years old.
However, in the appeal dated and filed on November 24, 2023, at the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos State, the appellant, through his lawyer, gave 35 grounds why his appeal should be allowed.
In a copy of the notice of appeal made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, Pinheiro argued that “the lower court erred in law when, in the absence of any direct evidence, it held that the alleged victim of the crime was a child of 16 at the time of the offence.”
He said that the prosecution did not tender any documentary evidence in support of its case that the alleged victim of the crime was 16 years old.
In proving this fact, the lawyer argued that the prosecution had the duty of presenting the birth certificate of the complainant, which would have served as conclusive proof of her age.
The lawyer also argued that contrary to the submission that the alleged victim was consistent in her evidence that Olaleye raped her, her evidence was riddled with inconsistencies.
Pinheiro said the alleged survivor never accused the appellant of rape before the police who interviewed her when the alleged events were still very fresh in her mind.
He said it was only four months after the alleged incident occurred that she turned around and alleged that the appellant raped her.
Pinheiro, who sought four reliefs, urged the appellate Court to make an order setting aside the decision of the lower Court. He also sought an order setting aside the conviction of and quashing the sentence against the appellant by the lower Court.
The lawyer equally sought an order discharging and acquitting Olaleye of the offences preferred against him.
