An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Tuesday discharged and acquitted a man, Dauda Salami, accused of defiling and abducting a 12-year-old girl
Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the prosecution failed to prove the two-count charge of defilement and abduction against Salami beyond reasonable doubt.
Oshodi held that the prosecution’s case collapsed due to the absence of crucial witnesses, including the alleged survivor, her mother, and investigating police officers.
The judge observed that securing the attendance of witnesses before criminal courts in the state remained a serious and recurring challenge.
He said while the prosecution listed nine witnesses, only one testified, in spite of witness summonses issued to compel the attendance of the others.
“The prosecution’s original nine witnesses never came to court. The availability of witnesses is central to the fair and proper resolution of any criminal trial.
“Yet, witnesses who made statements to the police during investigations frequently cannot be found or compelled to testify,” Oshodi said.
The court held that although witness summonses were issued to secure the attendance of four police officers, none appeared before the court.
According to the judge, one of the officers, Insp Onyeke Aleihunu, was granted permission to testify virtually but failed to attend.
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Oshodi held that the prosecution relied on the testimony of a single witness, a nurse-midwife with the Women at Risk International Foundation.
The witness presented and interpreted a medical report relating to the alleged survivor. The court held that the witness did not witness the alleged incident and could not directly link the defendant to either offence.
“The prosecutrix and her mother were not called, and no police officer testified.
“The witness’s account of what the child and her mother allegedly told medical personnel amounted to hearsay and cannot be relied upon.
“The accounts of the prosecutrix and her mother were not given on oath before this court. “They were not tested by cross-examination and cannot, therefore, be received as proof of the truth of their contents,” Oshodi said.
The court held that the prosecution was required to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, and not for the defendant to prove his innocence.
Oshodi held that the defendant’s decision to rest his case on that of the prosecution was justified in the circumstances.
“In this case, the defendant took no risk at all. The prosecution’s evidence was so plainly insufficient that it required no answer,” he said.
The judge expressed concern over the recurring failure of witnesses to attend criminal proceedings.
He pointed to the unimplemented Lagos State Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law as part of the broader challenge facing the criminal justice system.
“The agency established under that law to give effect to its provisions has yet to be constituted, and its absence was felt in this case.
“Until the agency is constituted and made operational, the law will remain an aspiration rather than a reality,” he said.
The state prosecution stated that Salami allegedly defiled and abducted the girl in July 2021 in the Bariga area of Lagos. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges when he was arraigned on Oct. 14, 2022.
NAN
