An Ikeja Division of the Lagos High Court was Monday in an unusual calm as a Muslim cleric, Akeem Ibrahim, was exposed after he allegedly shaved the pubic hair of a teenager, applied concoction and ‘digitally’ penetrated her vagina.
The cleric was exposed by a gynecologist at the Department of Family Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Shodipo Olanrewaju.
According to the medical doctor, digital penetration is the act of using one or more fingers to penetrate the vagina.
The doctor, who stood as a witness in the ongoing sexual assault case, told the court presided over by Justice S.S. Ogunsanya, that the teenager (names withheld), whose specific age was not mentioned at the court, was admitted to the hospital and tests conducted on her.
Mr. Olanrewaju said, “Findings revealed that she had a shaved pubic hair which the accused perpetrator shaved and went away with.
“She also had hyperemia which is an inflammatory process, there was redness and pains and those were keeping in history of digital penetration and these were contained in the report prepared by the team of doctors at the Centre due to the sensitivity of the case we receive dated 14th October, 2014.”
Earlier, the teenager in her testimony, said she was approached by Mr. Ibrahim, who lived in her compound, and told her he saw a vision that he would marry her.
She said, “He (the suspect) invited me to his house, undressed me and prepared a concoction which he applied on all parts of my body and digitally penetrated my vagina.
“He later asked me to go and warned me not to tell anyone.”
When the teenager’s medical report was presented before the chief judge as an exhibit, counsel to the defendant, Obuagbaka Worer, argued that the report must be certified before it could be tendered.
Worer questioned the authenticity of the document, saying the witness was not the maker of the document.
But the prosecution counsel, Arun Adebayo, in his response, said there was nothing wrong with the medical report.
Adebayo said, “The document is in its original form and true which my learned friend has a copy served.
“The maker of the document, Olaniyi Morenike, is no longer in the employment of the state government and has relocated and Section 83 of the Evidence Act settles this.
“We, therefore, urge the court to discountenance the objection of my learned friend.”
Delivering her ruling, Justice Ogunsanya said, “I have listened to the arguments of the two counsels.
“Counsel to the prosecution sought to tender a medical report as evidence and counsel to the defendant objected to the evidence as the witness was not the maker of the document and since it’s a public document, it should be properly certified.
“I have looked at the document and the document satisfies the Evidence Act, I, therefore admit this evidence as Exhibit P1.”
Ogunsanya adjourned to April 11, 2017, for further hearing.
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