An expert witness, Oyebimpe Akinbunmi, testified in the ongoing trial of a Lagos doctor, Femi Olaleye, on Wednesday that tests showed the survivor was raped.

The doctor, who appeared before the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in the Ikeja area of Lagos, said that findings showed that there was “repeated forceful penetrative” injury on the vagina of the survivor.

Background

Mr Olaleye, the managing director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, is facing a two-count charge of defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his wife’s niece when she was 16 years old.

Her niece, the alleged rape survivor, turned 18 years old in March.

He was arraigned by the Lagos State government in December.

The doctor pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against him.

In December, his wife, Aderemi Olaleye, told the court how he allegedly introduced her niece to pornographic content and oral sex.

Medical findings

Testifying on Wednesday, the medical expert told the court that she works at the family medical department of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and the Mirabel Centre.

She also told the court that she is a medical forensic examiner who deals with survivors of sexual abuse and violence.

During the hearing, Ms Akinbunmi said the survivor was presented at the Mirabel Centre on 15 March for a medical examination over the alleged rape incident.

The medical expert said before the survivor was examined, she narrated the details of the sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by the defendant.

“She (referring to the survivor) gave the history of the repeated sexual abuse since March 2020,” the medical expert said.

“She said the aunt’s husband (referring to the defendant) usually calls her in the middle of the night when others are sleeping to come downstairs.

“She said the aunt’s husband will remove his trousers and tell her to suck his penis. He sometimes puts his fingers in her vagina.

“She said he also applied something like lubricant before penetrating her vagina with the penis, which she said happened about four times. He also gave her pills after the intercourse and threatened her.8

“After the examination, the major findings were in the genital area. The hymen was angular which means ring-shaped and slightly estrogenized,” she told the court

“There was a notch at the 9 o’clock position on the hymen and transection at one o’clock position at the hymen. Transection means a deep cut.

“The vagina wall was also unduly visible, revealing more than one-third of the lower vagina.

“The pattern of injury that I saw was consistent with repeated forceful penetrative injury into the vagina. It is an indication of ongoing forceful blunt penetration of the vagina.

“In my medical opinion, if there is a repeated penetrative forceful injury on the vagina, it would be the classical features I saw on the vagina and hymen because it has been ongoing.”

At the hearing, the medical report and the referral letter were submitted as exhibits to the court.

Cross-examination

During cross-examination, Babatunde Ogala, the defendant’s lawyer, asked if the survivor informed the medical expert when the alleged sexual abuse ended.

“She only said when the abuse started. She did not say when it stopped,” she responded.

Again, the senior lawyer asked whether the survivor mentioned her age during the medical examination.

“Yes. she said she was 18 years old at the time of the medical examination,” the expert said.

Mr Ogala asked how the medical expert concluded that the alleged sexual abuse was perpetrated by his client.

“There was no place I concluded that it was the defendant that committed the act. I only stated what she (survivor) told me,” the expert responded.

“You can’t say it is the defendant that committed the act,” the lawyer asked further.

In her response, Ms Akinbunmi said she does not know who committed the alleged sexual abuse on the survivor.

The lawyer again asked whether the survivor mentioned when the alleged sexual abuse ended.

“She only gave the history of when it started, not when it ended. She did not tell me about the last time she was penetrated,” the expert replied.

The lawyer asked the witness when the injury on the survivor’s vagina occurred.

“I cannot confirm the exact date when the injury happened,” the expert said.

Mr Ogala asked the medical expert how long it would take for the injury to heal.

“Just as explained earlier, you cannot ascertain when the injury started or ended. It is difficult to say,” the expert said.

“Healing process differs among individuals.”

Earlier, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Esther Igbeneweka of the police gender unit, told the court that they received complaints in March from the defendant’s wife.

She said they took statements from the survivor, their ‘gateman’ and the defendant.

She said that Mr Olaleye denied the allegations but was detained for further investigation.

Ms Igbeneweka said that they put the investigation on hold because Mrs Olaleye, the complainant, travelled out of the country.

She, however, confirmed that the matter was previously reported at Anthony police division.

During cross-examination by Mr Ogala, she explained that she did not investigate whether the girl was an adult (18-years-old) when she began to live with the doctor’s family in December 2019.

Rahman Oshodi, the judge, fixed 26 January to hear more testimonies from witnesses.