Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court delivered a verdict on Thursday, discharging and acquitting 23-year-old Victory Tasie, who had been accused of raping his 19-year-old girlfriend. Tasie had spent two years in prison awaiting trial.
The judge’s decision came following a no-case submission filed by the defendant’s counsel, Mrs. Rukayat Owolabi, dated March 19, 2024. Justice Soladoye determined that the prosecution had failed to meet the burden of proof required to establish the charge of defilement against Tasie.
Central to the judge’s ruling was the testimony of the alleged survivor, Tasie’s girlfriend, who revealed to the court that Tasie was her boyfriend and that he had not raped her. The survivor clarified that she was not a minor when she became pregnant for the defendant, providing her birthdate as April 12, 2003.
Justice Soladoye emphasized that the prosecution had only presented one witness and had failed to call additional witnesses before closing its case on February 8, 2024. Upon careful consideration of the arguments presented by both counsels, the judge concluded that the prosecution had not successfully proven the charge of defilement against the defendant.
Consequently, Justice Soladoye upheld the defendant’s no-case submission, stating that Tasie had no case to answer. He was subsequently discharged and acquitted of all charges.
The state government had accused Tasie of defiling the purported survivor when she was 16 years old, according to the charge filed. However, during her testimony on November 8, 2023, the girlfriend clarified that she was 19 years old at the time of the incident and that the sexual encounter with Tasie was consensual, as they were in a romantic relationship.
In her testimony, she affirmed the nature of their relationship and refuted claims of rape, stating unequivocally, “He did not rape me, and he is my boyfriend.”
