A guardian, James Nse, has been discharged of a sexual offence charge after a Lagos court upheld his submission that there was no case to answer.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Domestic and Sexual Offences Court in Ikeja held that the prosecution failed to provide essential elements to support its case against Nse.
Ruling on a submission made by Nse’s counsel under Section 239(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, Justice Oshodi stated there was no direct or reliable evidence to prove the age of the alleged victim or that the alleged offences were committed.
The trial arose from an accusation that Nse had sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl sometime between January and February 2014 at Adebisi Street in Shomolu, Lagos.
He was first arraigned in December 2019 and pleaded not guilty and the trial subsequently resumed in December 2021.
The principal and sole prosecution witness, Obi Elizabeth Elabo, a counsellor with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, told the court a teacher from Wesley Primary School Shomolu had reported the incident to her.
Elabo stated the alleged victim told her Nse, her sister’s husband, repeatedly sexually assaulted her and that on the day the incident was reported, the child was bleeding.
Under cross-examination, however, Elabo admitted she did not know when the alleged victim was born and did not witness the alleged offences.
The court held that her testimony fell short of proving the essential elements of the alleged offence.
“It is the view of this court that the age of the Prosecutrix was not proved, and the alleged penetration was not directly witnessed or adequately supported by testimony. The testimony is unreliable and fails to establish a prima facie case against the defendant,” Justice Oshodi said.
The trial judge discharged Nse after upholding the no-case submission. “The submission falls within the first and third conditions for upholding a no-case submission — failure to prove an essential element of the alleged offence and unreliable testimony — and is therefore successful.”
