By Yemi Oyeyemi, Abuja
An Abuja High Court sitting in Bwari, has dismissed the rape case instituted by a celebrity photographer and wife of crooner, Mrs Busola Dakolo, against the Senior Pastor of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, COZA, Biodun Fatoyinbo.
Othman Musa of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Bwari Division, dismissed because, according to him, it was statute-barred because it happened two decades ago.
He said the charges should have been brought within the permitted six years.
He also absolved Pastor Fatoyinbo from the alleged rape on the ground that the case of the plaintiff was purely sentimental and empty.
Justice Othman Musa while dismissing the rape suit awarded a cost of N1,000,000 against Busola Dakolo to be paid to the Pastor.
Busola, wife of popular artist, Timi Dakolo had accused Pastor Fatoyinbo of raping her while she was a teenager.
She approached the court to demand for justice and compensation.
Precisely, Busola Dakolo accused Pastor Fatoyibi of raping her in 1999.
On his part, the COZA Senior Pastor filed an objection to the suit and supported it with an affidavit claiming that Busola’s statements were false and concocted to embarrass, scandalise and ridicule him.
He said in the affidavit that from the inception, the plaintiff sought the attention of the media and brought the civil action even while the Police investigation was ongoing.
According to him, her false claims were stale and an abuse of judicial process.
After parties argued their briefs, Justice Musa held that the matter amounts to an abuse of judicial process.
He further held that the case is purely sentimental and empty, having no concrete facts known to law and legs to stand upon.
Justice Musa awarded costs of N1,000,000 against Busola Dakolo and held that it would have been 10 times more but resisted it because there are women with legitimate claims who may approach the court for justice.
According to the court, the case carries more of cruelty in it than justice.
Before the judgment was delivered,
Fatoyinbo had described the suit as frivolous and statute barred.
Fatoyinbo, through his lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, in a preliminary objection dated 20th September, 2019, said the reliefs sought by Busola in the suit are not grantable, which makes the suit incompetent.
According to the objection filed at a high court of the federal capital territory, Dr. Izinyon said the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the suit adding that the suit is frivolous and a palpable abuse of court process
In an affidavit deposed to by
Ademola Adetuberu, Executive Senior Assitant to Pastor Fatoyinbo, he said the substratum of the claimant’s suit is the mere purported allegation of emotional and psychological distress as a result of the said purported mere allegation of rape against the Defendant.
Plaintiff had months ago made a shocking revelation in a detailed interview with Chude Jideonwo, a lawyer and journalist, of how the Abuja-based cleric allegedly raped her as a teenager.
She claimed that Fatoyinbo had sexual intercourse with her on September 23 and September 26, 2002, caused her continuous emotional distress and amount to intentional infliction of emotional distress.