The Lagos State Government has appealed to the Supreme Court to uphold the conviction of Dr. Olufemi Olaleye, who was earlier found guilty of defiling his wife’s 16-year-old niece by the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court but later acquitted by the Court of Appeal.
Dr. Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2023 by the trial court. However, the Court of Appeal in Lagos, on November 29, 2024, overturned the conviction, citing inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court’s decision, the Lagos State Government took the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging the judgment that set Dr. Olaleye free.
In response, Dr. Olaleye, through his counsel, Chief J. Okutepa (SAN), filed a preliminary objection urging the apex court to strike out the appeal for lack of competence.
Reacting to the objection, the state government urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the respondent’s submissions, describing them as baseless and overly technical. The government maintained that its appeal, filed along with a detailed brief of argument dated August 18, 2025, presented valid grounds for reinstating the original judgment of the trial court.
According to the state, the appeal rests on four main grounds, all aimed at demonstrating why the Supreme Court should restore the conviction and sentence earlier handed down to Dr. Olaleye.
One of the key issues raised by the state is whether the question of the victim’s age — which was neither disputed nor contested during trial — can be raised at the appellate level. The government also asked the court to determine whether the prosecution had sufficiently proven the offences of defilement and sexual assault by penetration, contrary to Sections 137 and 261 of the Lagos State Criminal Law (CAP 17, Vol. 3, Laws of Lagos State 2015), beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.
The Lagos State Government concluded that the appeal filed by Dr. Olaleye was fundamentally flawed and urged the Supreme Court to affirm the original conviction and life sentence imposed by the trial court.
