A man who was accused of having sexual intercourse with a 13 year old girl was on Tuesday discharged and acquitted by an Ikeja High Court.
Adewumi Adetuyi travails began sometimes in March 2013, when the mother of the victim (names withheld) reported to the police that her daughter had been raped.
The victim it was gathered had been sent to buy rice on the day of the incident. When she failed to return around 9pm, a search party was raised to look for her.
When the victim was eventually found, she told her mother that one man had lured her into an uncompleted building where he asked her to lie down and he then had sex with her.
The victim further told her mother that her assailant had been pestering her for sex but she refused.
The matter was reported to the police and Adetuyi was arrested as the victim allegedly said that he was the one that raped her.
Adetuyi who spent three years in prison however denied the allegation stating that he saw the victim around Anifowoshe, Ikeja late in the night on the day of the incident, and he only asked her what she was doing outside at that time of the night.
Delivering judgement, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, pointed out that the prosecution failed to prove its case, as there was no hard evidence against the accused person.
“The prosecution failed in its attempt to prove its case of defilement against the accused. There are no hard facts linking the accused to the crime.
“There is no disputing that the victim was raped, but the prosecution needs to do more in the area of forensic analysis so as to accurately prove cases of rape and defilement. The defendant is hereby discharged and acquitted,” the Judge ruled.
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General of Lagos State, Adeniji Kazeem, however hailed the Judge’s decision and promised to work on the ‘lapses’ in prosecuting rape cases.