Rape: Osun Drags Monarch to Appeal Court

The Osun State Ministry of Justice has filed an appeal to challenge the judgment of the State High Court which discharged and acquitted the Alowa of Ilowa, Oba Adebukola Alli.

The monarch was accused of raping a former member of the National Youth Service Corps.

The monarch, who was dragged to court by the ex-corps member, Helen Okpara, was freed by Justice Jide Falola on October 8, 2013 after almost three years trial.

A statement from the Ministry of Justice on Sunday by the Information Officer of the ministry, Mr. Opeyemi Bello, stated that the appeal had been filed at the Court of Appeal, Akure Division.

The state government expressed its displeasure about the case and asked the Appeal Court to convict the monarch for forcefully having carnal knowledge of Okpara who served in the monarch’s domain.

The respondent stated in the notice of appeal filed on December 12 that the learned trial judge erred in law when he held that the prosecution failed to tender medical report.

It reads further, “The Investigating Police Officer led evidence to the effect that he took the victim to Osogbo for medical examination after the offence of rape had been committed by the accused.

“The medical doctor that examined the victim testified as PW1 that she was presented to him for medical examination with the complaint that she was sexually assaulted and that he found bruises on her virginal which suggested struggle in the course of penetration.

“All through the trail, there was no contrary evidence to suggest that medical examination of the victim was not conducted.

“The judgement of the learned trial judge is altogether unmeritorious, unreasonable, unwarranted, perverse and cannot be supported having regard to the totality of evidence adduced before the court.”

The government asked the appeal court to convict the monarch, saying all the ingredients of rape were proved before the lower court.

Opara, who served in Alli’s domain between 2010 and 2011, had claimed that the monarch took her to his private residence in Osogbo, the state capital, where he forcefully had sex with her.

But the monarch denied the claim, saying the ex-corps member was his girlfriend. Opara had said at a press conference that Alli raped her without using a condom.

The former corps member had explained  that she got acquainted with the monarch during the last voters’ registration exercise in Ilowa and he  (Alowa) eventually asked her to assist him to facilitate computer training programme for his subjects.