Court sentences 43-year-old trader to 25 years in prison for raping a tailor

Adelaja Oloyede, a 43-year-old trader, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for raping a tailor by an Ikeja Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence Court on Friday.
Justice Abiola Soladoye found Oloyede guilty of a single count of rape in violation of Section 260 of the Lagos 2015 Criminal Law.

The prosecution team had proven their case against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt, according to Justice Soladoye.

Even if the survivor was his girlfriend, the court ruled that the convict had no right to have forcible sexual intercourse with her.

“All of the defendant’s stories to the court in his testimony were muddled and full of lies.

“The defendant’s actions are reprehensible, and the court is convinced that the prosecution has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“As a result of being found guilty of the one-count charge of rape, the defendant is hereby sentenced to 25 years in prison. “This is the court’s decision,” Soladoye stated.

The judge also ordered the State Government to register Oloyede as a sex offender in the Sex Offenders Register.

The convict committed the offence sometime in 2018 at his home at No 2, Adelaja St., Ikorodu, Lagos, according to the Lagos State prosecution team led by Olusola Soleye.

The prosecution called four witnesses to the stand during the trial: the complainant (name withheld), her sister, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), and a medical doctor. The defendant only testified in his own defence.

The prosecution presented the complainant’s bloodstained underwear and a black tie to the court, which were accepted as exhibits.

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In her testimony, the 25-year-old survivor stated that the convict lives in her neighbourhood and that they met on their way home from church.

Oloyede shook her hand, according to her, and she began obeying his commands after that.

She claimed the convict took her to his home and led her into a room filled with fetish items.

The convict asked the witness to kneel down and recite several incantations, according to the witness.

She claimed that when she attempted to leave, a struggle ensued, during which Oloyede engaged in forceful sexual intercourse with her and inserted a fetish substance into her private area.

After the deed, the convict told her not to tell anyone about what happened between them, according to the complainant.

She claimed she immediately reported the crime to the authorities after leaving the house.

During his defence testimony, Oloyede denied the allegations of rape.

He claimed the complainant was his fiancée and that they had consensual sexual relations on a regular basis.

He denied putting fetish objects in her private area.