Oba Adebukola Alli

Adebukola Alli

•The monarch’s acquittal for rape of NYSC girl is intriguing legal sophistry

The judgment of Justice Jide Falola of Osun State High Court, that the the Alowa of Ilowa-ijesa, Oba Adebukola Alli is guilty of desecration of his royal stool, by having sex with a youth corps member under his care, but he is not guilty of raping the girl is one intriguing legal sophistry. According to the news report, the judge berated the Oba for bringing disgrace to his family and subjects by his disgraceful conduct, but held that in the absence of exhibits such as the used bed sheet, victim’s underpants and a medical report indicating a forcible penetration, the offence cannot be proved.

We accept that under the criminal code, applicable in most states south of Nigeria, the proof of the offence of rape is scandalously technical. However, “the essential and most important ingredient of the offence of rape is penetration and unless penetration is proved, the prosecution must fail”. But in the instant case, that question was positively answered as the accused confessed and the court confirmed that the monarch had sex with the corps member. At that stage, what the court should be concerned with is whether the victim gave her consent, or whether it was obtained by force.

So, in our humble view, the judge may have gone on a frolic when he claimed that the prosecution failed to prove penetration, when the accused had confessed that he actually had sex with the victim. Agreed that where the victim shows bruises on her private part or other parts of her body, that evidence may ground the use of force, but it is untenable to contend that those are essential ingredients of rape. Indeed, in the instant case, it was on record that the victim called her office to report that the accused was allegedly threatening to rape her, yet the judge seems not to have given much value to this evidence, by holding that there was no evidence that the accused attacked the ex-corps member.

While we continue to ponder as to the soundness of the legal reasons offered by the judge, for his highly regrettable judgment; we urge the state to quickly take steps to appeal the judgment. Considering that the victim was on a national assignment, it is unfortunate that both the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Nigerian state could not protect her. In the circumstance, it is a matter of urgency to take steps to mend the abused psyche of the poor victim.

We also recall that the monarch had at the trial sought to intimidate the court by mobilising innocent children from his community school to protest at the court premises. A similar pattern was used when at the trial the accused mobilised his palace officials to appear in court to claim that the ex-corps member was the girlfriend to the accused person, despite her vehement denials. The witnesses chose to ignore the fact that the girl was involved in a project within the community, and preferred to interpret her visibility in the palace, to mean an amorous relationship with the accused. In making that assertion, it is obvious that the accused was bent on the use of subterfuge and diversionary measures to secure his acquittal.

Regrettably, it appears that the judge fell for those tricks and decided to hand an acquittal to Oba Adebukola Alli. Now, it may be necessary for the state to ponder on the integrity of the monarch, while it takes steps to modernise its criminal law, particularly on rape. It may also be necessary for the NYSC to consider blacklisting the community until there is a change.