Lagos State Government has prayed the Supreme Court to affirm the conviction of Dr. Olufemi Olaleye, who was convicted for defiling his wife’s 16-year-old niece by the State High Court but was later set free by the Court of Appeal.
Dr. Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, was initially sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in October 2023.
However, the Court of Appeal in Lagos, on November 29, 2024, overturned Dr. Olaleye’s conviction, citing inconsistencies in the evidence presented by the prosecution.
Dissatisfy with the appellate court’s verdict, the state government approached the Supreme Court, challenging the acquittal of defilement charges against Dr. Olaleye.
But Dr. Olaleye, through his counsel, Chief J. Okutepa, SAN, filed an objection against the appeal.
The respondent’s counsel, in the preliminary objection, prayed the apex court to strike out the appeal for want of competence.
Responding to the preliminary objection, the state government urged the Supreme Court to discountenance the submissions of the respondent based on the reasons advanced in its brief of argument dated August 18 2025, and allow the appeal by reinstating the judgment of the trial court.
The state government, in its detailed response to the preliminary objection by Olaleye, argued that the respondent’s application is misplaced, unfounded and smirks of technicality.
The state’s ground of appeal rests on four major pillars, each pointing to why the apex court should affirm the conviction of Olaleye by the trial court.
In ground three, the state government wants the apex court to determine whether the issue of the age of the victim PW2 which was not contested, disputed or raised during trial can be made an issue at the appellate stage; whether the appellant has successfully proved the offenses of defilement of a child contrary to Section 137 of the Criminal Law, CAP 17, VOL 3.
Laws of Lagos State 2015 and sexual assault by penetration contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law, CAP 17, and Vol 3 Laws of Lagos State 2015, against the respondent beyond reasonable doubt as required by law among others.
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