A medical practitioner, identified simply as Olaleye, has been accused of raping his wife’s niece at their residence in Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the victim started living with the family of the medical practitioner after her father died.
Our correspondent gathered that the minor was living with Olaleye when he allegedly introduced her to pornography.
Afterwards, the medical practitioner, while taking advantage of the victim in his custody, allegedly deflowered her and threatened the victim against informing anyone.
Olaleye was said to have perpetrated the crime for about 19 months until his wife got to know about his illicit acts with her niece and subsequently reported to the Lagos State Police Command for investigation.
Policemen detailed to investigate the case reportedly arrested Olaleye and the case transferred to the Gender Unit of the police command, where an investigative police officer, Bimbo Williams was assigned to handle the case from March 2022.
As proper sanctioning of the suspect was not forthcoming, it was learnt that a petition was written to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Agency to intervene in the matter.
However, in a bid to get justice for the victim, the Chairman of an advocacy group, Radical Agenda Movement in the NBA, Adesina Ogunlana, during a joint press conference with journalists on Monday, called on the state police command and officials of the DSVRT to prosecute Olaleye for allegedly sexually abusing the minor.
Ogunlana said despite the police and the government agency having evidence including Olaleye’s confessional statement, the medical practitioner was yet to be charged for the crime since March 19, 2022.
He said, “We are wondering why a case that was investigated since March didn’t go to court immediately. An aide to the governor of Lagos State has also allegedly been fingered as the brain behind the non-prosecution of Dr. Olaleye.
“This same person called to intimidate the Rapid Response team of Lagos State when they were called to provide security for the survivor and her guardian because the intimidation and threats to their lives became unbearable.
“We, therefore, demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of Dr. Olaleye who has misused his position as a trusted medical practitioner. We also demand an immediate investigation by the Lagos State government into unveiling the political character behind the curtain that has prevented them from prosecuting the offender since March, 2022.
“Thirdly, we call on the Nigeria Medical Association to investigate these alleged offences by a respected member of their association and if allegations are found to be true to immediately withdraw his licence as such people should not be found in a noble and respected profession like medicine.”
Other groups involved in the conference included Bimbo Odukoya Foundation; Advocate for Children and Vulnerable Persons in Nigerian; Stop the Abuse against Women and Children Foundation; Child Protection Network Lagos State; Piece of My Heart Foundation; and Smile and Shine Foundation.
The Chief Operations Officer, Advocate for Children and Vulnerable Persons in Nigerian, Ebenezer Omejalile, while demanding justice in the matter, said people had reached out to him to allegedly question Olaleye’s integrity while offering his services to them.
In her reaction, a certified clinical psychologist, Pamela Isokan, said the victim alongside Olaleye’s wife and children had been traumatised by the development.
“The victim is traumatised. The wife and children of the accused doctor are also traumatised. I’m now doing therapy sessions for people who had no business with being traumatised until this incident happened. The lawyers should do everything in their power to get justice so that the children will feel safe.”
Olaleye could not be reached as he did not respond to calls to his business and personal phone numbers as of the time of filing this report.
Our correspondent gathered that Olaleye was arrested on Sunday and had been remanded at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, in the Yaba area of the state.
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, when contacted, said he could not confirm Olaleye’s arrest but confirmed the allegation against him.
“I cannot confirm if he (Olaleye) was arrested,” he said.
Reacting, The Executive Secretary, Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, Titilayo Vivour-Adeniyi, said, “We are waiting for the police to conclude investigations and forward the duplicate case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.”
