Femi Olaleye, the managing director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of raping his wife’s niece.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Rahman Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence in Lagos on Tuesday. Mr. Olaleye faced a two-count charge of defilement and sexual assault by penetration, both of which he was accused of committing between March 2020 and November 2021.
The defendant was arraigned on November 30, 2022, and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
“Femi Olaleye, I have convicted you of defilement and sexual assault by penetration. This charge has a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Accordingly, I sentenced you to life imprisonment on count one and two. On each count, the sentencing will run concurrently,” the judge ruled.
The prosecution presented a total of seven witnesses during the trial. Notably, one of the witnesses was later withdrawn from the proceedings. Among the witnesses were the defendant’s wife, who initially reported the case to the police, and the alleged survivor, whose identity has been withheld.
Additionally, a child forensic specialist, Bisi Ajayi-Kayode, a police inspector named Esther Igbineweka, a medical examiner named Akinbunmi Oyebimpe, and a police officer named Abe Leonard also provided their testimonies.
In his ruling, the judge expressed his belief in the survivor’s testimony, which detailed the defendant’s act of rape and forceful insertion of his penis into her mouth.
The judge dismissed the defendant’s claim that the survivor had been coerced and tortured into making false accusations, emphasizing that her testimony remained consistent throughout the proceedings. Furthermore, the judge rejected the defence team’s arguments regarding the survivor’s age at the time of the incident, as well as their claims that she had engaged in consensual sexual activities with two adults at their residence.
“The sexual abuse came with a threat. The defendant had groomed the prosecutory (referring to the survivor) with pornography,” the judge said.
“The prosecutory did not consent and did not willingly suck his penis.
“I’m satisfied with prosecutory’s evidence that the defendant had sex with her and inserted his penis in her mouth and ejaculated.
“I believe the prosecutory that he forced her to suck his penis. I believe that the first time he had sex with her, blood gushed out of her vagina. Her evidence greatly implicates the defendant.”
On the argument of financial motivation, the judge held that the issues raised by the defendant that his wife was motivated by financial gains was to “deflate” the evidence of sexual abuse.
The defense lawyer had claimed that the survivour was tutored by the defendant’s wife to lie against him as part of the scheme to take over his properties.
“The defendant said his wife was motivated by financial gains, including taking the family home in Maryland, Lagos, Mercedes Benz, money in their joint account and custody of their two children,” the judge ruled.
“Let me immediately say that these issues will not deflate the evidence of the prosecution on the issues before the court. The issue is this – did the defendant have sexual intercourse with the prosecutory and force her to suck his penis? The answer is yes.”
Ms Oshodi held that the court cannot believe the testimony of the defendant, adding that the defendant lied to the court.
