Almost three years after an agonising trial, reprieve came the way of 53-year-old Sanni Arowolo, a landlord who was accused of impregnating his tenant’s 14-year-old daughter.
He betrayed emotion as tears rolled down his eyes as an Ikeja Special Offences Court discharged and acquitted him of the case of defilement pressed against him.
The court also ruled that he couldn’t have impregnated his 14-year-old tenant’s daughter.
This is the judgement by Justice Sherifat Solebo on Wednesday.
According to the judge, the prosecution did not prove the case of defilement against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
Justice Solebo ruled that the prosecution was unable to establish that the defendant committed the offence because the Deoxyribonucleic Acid, DNA, result showed zero probability that the defendant was the father of the child born by the tenant’s daughter.
Prior to today’s proceeding the court had ordered a DNA test to be carried out on the child of the tenant’s daughter to ascertain if the defendant committed the offence.
“The prosecution was unable to establish anything that the defendant committed the offence and that was why the court ordered a DNA test.
“The court received the report of the DNA through an email and physically through a courier.
“The result of the DNA test showed zero probability. The alleged father lack genetic pattern that can lead to the fact that he impregnated the survivor.
“This man here standing trial before the court may not have been the one that impregnated the child and could not have been the one that defiled her.
“The man in the dock is hereby discharged and acquitted,” the judged ruled.
The State prosecutor, Ms. Saidat Fashola had alleged that the defendant defiled and impregnated the girl in her mother’s shop sometime in February 2019.
The prosecution accused the defendant of sexual defilement against the victim in the shop he rented out to her mother.
