Court sentences trader to 25 years imprisonment for raping tailor

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Friday sentenced a 43-year-old trader, Adelaja Oloyede, to 25 years imprisonment for raping a tailor.

Justice Abiola Soladoye found Oloyede guilty of a lone count charge of rape contrary to Section 260 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015.

Justice Soladoye held that the prosecution team had proved their case against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court held that the convict does not have a right to have forceful sexual intercourse with the survivor even if she was his girlfriend.

“All the stories the defendant told the court in his testimony was muddled and riddled with lies.

“The defendant’s conduct is reprehensible and the court is convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved its case.

“Consequently, the defendant having been found guilty of the one-count charge of rape is hereby sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. This is the judgment of the court,” Soladoye said.

The judge also ordered that Oloyede should be registered as a sex offender in the Sex Offenders Register by the State Government.

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

During the trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses; the complainant (name withheld), her sister, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) and medical doctor. The defendant testified solely in his defence.

The prosecution tendered the complainant’s blood-stained underwear and a black-tie which were admitted as exhibits by the court.

The 25-year-old survivor, in her testimony, said that the convict resides in her neighbourhood and they had an encounter on her way home from church.

According to her, Oloyede shook her hand and thereafter she started obeying his command.

She said the convict took her to his house and was led into a room where there were numerous fetish items.

The witness told the court that the convict asked her to kneel down and he chanted several incantations.

She said when she wanted to leave, a struggle ensued and Oloyede had forceful sexual intercourse with her and inserted a fetish substance in her private part.

The complainant noted that after the deed, the convict told her not to tell anyone about what transpired between them.

She said she reported the crime to the authorities immediately after she left the residence.

Oloyede while testifying in his defence denied the allegations of rape.

He claimed that the complainant was his fiancee and that they regularly had consensual sexual intercourse.

He denied inserting fetish items into her private part.