A Nigerian doctor convicted of rape and segxwal
assault has been acquitted by the appeal court.
Femi Olaleye, a Lagos-based doctor, was convicted and
sentenced to life imprisonment by the high court on a two-count charge of
defilement and segxwal assault by penetration of his wife’s 16-year-old niece.
However, the Court of Appeal on Friday discharged and
acquitted him.
The appellant was freed after challenging his
conviction and life imprisonment sentence.
Gistmania reports that Mr Olaleye, the medical
director of Optimal Cancer Care, was arraigned in 2022 by the Lagos State
Government at the segxwal Offences and Domestic Violence Court, in Ikeja,
Lagos.
After his conviction in August 2023, his lawyer, Kemi
Pihinero, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed an appeal in November 2023,
arguing that there was no direct evidence to confirm the alleged victim’s age.
The appellant argued that there was no direct evidence
to establish the alleged victim’s age, claiming the prosecution failed to
provide documentation proving she was 16 years old at the time of the offence.
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