Appeal Court frees popular Lagos doctor initially convicted of rape

A Nigerian doctor convicted of rape and sexual assault has been acquitted by the appeal court.

Femi Olaleye, a Lagos-based doctor, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the high court on a two-count charge of defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his wife’s 16-year-old niece.

However, the Court of Appeal on Friday discharged and acquitted him.

The appellant was freed after challenging his conviction and life imprisonment sentence.

Backstory

Mr Olaleye, the medical director of Optimal Cancer Care, was arraigned in 2022 by the Lagos State Government at the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, in Ikeja, Lagos.

After his conviction in August 2023, his lawyer, Kemi Pihinero, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), filed an appeal in November 2023, arguing that there was no direct evidence to confirm the alleged victim’s age.

The appellant argued that there was no direct evidence to establish the alleged victim’s age, claiming the prosecution failed to provide documentation proving she was 16 years old at the time of the offence.