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Doctor Convicted of Rape Faults Lower Court Judgment, Takes Case to Appeal Court

Published

3 years ago

November 28, 2023

Eric

Nigerian doctor and Founder, Optimal Cancer Foundation, Olufemi Olaleye, has appealed the lower court’s judgment, which found him guilty, and sentenced him to life imprisonment, for defining and having carnal knowledge of his wife’s niece, who was reported to be 16 years.

Dr Olaleye was found guilty and sentenced by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, on October 25, 2023.

Olaleye accused the court of erring on all counts, totalling about 35, and therefore seeks redress from the Appeal Court, demanding to be absolved of claim for the said crime as well be discharged and crucified.

Below is the detailed petition and Olaleye’s prayers to the court in words and PDF;

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL HOLDEN AT LAGOS
APPEAL NO:……………………..
CHARGE NO: ID/20289C/2022

BETWEEN
DR. OLUFEMI OLALEYE …APPELLANT
AND
THE STATE OF LAGOS …RESPONDENT

NOTICE OF APPEAL
I, DR. OLUFEMI OLALEYE currently at the Nigerian Correctional Service, Kirikiri Maximum Prison, Apapa, Lagos State, having been convicted for the offences of Defilement and Sexual Assault by penetration contrary to Sections 137 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Cap. C17, Vol. 3 Laws of Lagos State, 2015 at the High Court of Lagos State, sitting at the Ikeja Judicial Division in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022 wherein the Judgment was delivered by Coram: Hon. R. A. Oshodi (the Honourable Lower Court) on the 24th day of October, 2023, do hereby appeal to the Court of Appeal on the following grounds:
2. PART OF THE DECISIONS COMPLAINED OF:
The whole decision.
3. GROUNDS OF APPEAL
Ground One
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in the absence of any direct evidence it held that the alleged victim of the crime was a child of 16 at the time of the offence.
Particulars
1. There was no direct evidence from anyone who witnessed the birth of the alleged victim of the crime contrary to the decisions in Agwasim vs. Ejivumerwerhaye (2001) 9 NWLR pt. 718 pg. 395; Gusua vs Akpata (2000) FWLR pt. 30 pg. 2573.
2. The prosecution did not tender any documentary evidence in support of its case that the alleged victim of the crime was 16 years.
3. No document which pre-dated the investigation and commission of the crime were tendered to prove and establish the age of the alleged victim of the crime.
4. The evidence of PW1, PW2, PW4, PW5 and PW6 in relation to the age of the alleged victim of the crime were all hearsay evidence which in our law is statutorily prohibited and case law deprecated. See: Section 38 of the Evidence Act 2011; Osho v. State (2012) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1302) 243; Odogwu v. State (2013) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1373) 74; State v. Masiga (2018) 8 NWLR (Pt. 1622) 383.
5. The evidence of PW4, PW5 and PW6 on the age of the alleged victim of the crime were information derived after the fact from PW2 herself.
6. There was no reliable and credible evidence before the Court to back up the decision of the Honourable Lower Court.
Ground Two
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding the failure of the Prosecution to present the Birth Certificate or any document in respect of the alleged victim’s date of birth, it failed to invoke Section 167(d) of the Evidence Act 2011.
Particulars
1. The Law mandates a Court of law to presume that evidence which could be and is not produced by a party has been willfully withheld by that party because same was unfavorable to it.
2. The birth certificate or any document in relation to the date of birth of the alleged victim of the crime ought to have been in the custody of the prosecution or the victim.
3. The prosecution elected not to present the said birth certificate or any document in that regard.
4. In the circumstances the Honourable Lower Court ought to have invoked Section 167(d) of the Evidence Act 2011. See: State vs. Sunday (2019) 9 NWLR pt. 1676 pg. 115; State vs. Salawu (2011) 18 NWLR pt. 1279 pg. 580.
Ground Three
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in the absence of any explanation in respect of the Prosecution’s failure to produce the Birth Certificate or any document in relation to the birth of the alleged victim of the crime, it proceeded to rely on the oral evidence of the Prosecution Witnesses.
Particulars
1. The particulars of ground I are hereby repeated.
Ground Four
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in the absence of reliable and credible evidence on the age of the purported victim of the crime at the time the alleged offence was committed, it proceeded to convict the Appellant for defilement under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
Particulars
1. For the purpose of the offence spelt out in Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015, a child is any person below the age of 18 years.
2. The age of the alleged victim of the crime is a critical ingredient to be proved in the offence of defilement.
3. Where there is a doubt in the age of the alleged victim of the crime, the doubt must be resolved in the Defendant’s favour and a Court of law ought not to convict an accused person. See: Aliyu v. State (2000) 2 NWLR (Pt. 644) 178; Modupe v. State (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 87) 130.
4. In the absence of ANY evidence or reliable and credible evidence on the age of the alleged victim of the crime to support such a critical ingredient of the offence of defilement, the Honourable Lower Court ought to have discharged and acquitted the Appellant.
Ground Five
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in convicting the Appellant for defilement of the named Blessing Ahamefuia, it held that the alleged victim: –
“…was consistent in her evidence that the Defendant raped her.”
Particulars
1. The alleged victim of the crime, PW2 in her extra-judicial statement to the Police never alleged that the Appellant raped he
2. At the time the alleged victim wrote her Statement to the Police, the incident if any was fresh in her mind and no such allegation of rape was made.
3. PW2 only made reference of rape incidents when she was interviewed at the Gender department, four months after her extra-judicial statement to the police. This she repeated in the course of trial.
4. There was a long time-span between when the alleged victim wrote her statement to the Police and when she gave evidence in Court.
5. The sudden allegation by PW2 in the course of trial that the Appellant raped her was clearly an after-thought.
6. The inconsistency in the assertion of rape is fundamental and critical to the prosecution’s case.
7. The Honourable Lower Court in the circumstance ought to have drawn the necessary interference and resolved the inconsistency in the alleged victim’s testimony in favour of the Appellant.
8. Where the extra-judicial statement of a witness is inconsistent with the testimony in Court, such witness ought to be regarded as unreliable and not credible.
Ground Six
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that it did not “…believe that Aunty Tessy was a vital witness” while believing the testimony of PW1 and PW2.
Particulars
1. PWI was demonstrably a tainted and interested witness and as such her evidence was manifestly unreliable.
2. The presence of the named Aunty Tessy was very vital as it related to the incidents of November, 2021 and the allegations torture and physical abuse leveled against PWI by PW2 at the said meeting.
3. The presence of the named Aunty Tessy was vital in so far as the Honourable Lower Court relied on her experience as a retired school teacher and psychologist in extracting a confession from the alleged victim of the crime.
4. Aunty Tessy was an independent witness who had received the allegations leveled against PWI by PW2.
5 She was a key and vital witness.
6. In the absence of the named Aunty Tessy, the Honourable Lower Court ought not to have relied on the testimony of PWI and PW2.
Ground Seven
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that:
“I must disagree with the defence that there are inconsistencies in the Prosecutrix’s (PW2) evidence compared to the medical report.”
Particulars
1. In her statement at the Gender Department, PW2 alleged that the sexual episodes were about four times.
2. In her evidence-in-Chief PW2, the alleged victim stated that the Appellant had sex with her four times a week.
3. The Honourable Lower Court had held that the Medical Report tendered by the prosecution did not indict the Appellant.
4. This clearly contradicted the facts contained in the medical report and the alleged victim’s extra-judicial statement.
Ground Eight
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that:
“I believe the Prosecutrix (PW2). The Defendant often had sexual intercourse with her, He forced her to suck his penis repeatedly. He released semen in her mouth. I believe the first time he had sexual intercourse with her, blood oozed out of her vagina. She was tired and exasperated. She was in anguish and pain. Her evidence was strengthened during cross-examination.”
Particulars
1. PW2 in her extra-judicial statement to the police never stated that the Appellant raped her.
2. The evidence of PW2 in Court was a total departure from the facts contained in her extra-judicial statement.
3. There was video recording tendered and played in open Court where PW2 stated categorically that the Appellant never released semen on her.
4. In the circumstances the Honourable Lower Court ought to have treated the testimony and evidence of PW2 with a pinch of salt.
5. Particulars of ground 5 are repeated seriatim.
Ground Nine
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding its holding that the evidence of PW5 evidence and medical report did not indict the Appellant, it proceeded to hold that the evidence of PW5 corroborated the evidence of PW2.
Particulars
1. The Honourable Lower Court confirmed that the medical examination conducted by PW5 on the alleged victim of the crime was conducted months after the commission of the crime.
2. It was the holding of the Lower Court that the report did not indict the Appellant in anyway.
3. If the examination report of PW5 did not indict the Appellant, it was indeed absurd for the Honourable Lower Court to have held that the PW5’s testimony corroborated the testimony of PW2.
4. By the decision in Igbine vs State (1997) 9 NWLR pt. 519 pg. 101, corroborative evidence must be evidence which confirms in some material particular not only that the crime was committed but that it was the Appellant who committed the offence.
5. The decision of the Honourable Lower Court with respect amounted to a judicial summersault.
Ground Ten
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the evidence of PW5 to convict the Appellant it held that the testimony of PW5 was not impeached.
Particulars
1. PW5 saw the alleged victim of the crime PW2 on 15th March, 2022 months after the alleged offence was committed.
2. The medical certificate issued by PWS stated categorically that PW2 was being examined in respect of a sexual assault that occurred at 2.45pm on the 15th of March, 2022 contrary to her. evidence in Court that she was defiled and sexually assaulted by the Appellant between 2020 and 2021.
3. PW5 only offered evidence on the physical structure of the female genital and nothing more.
4. It was the finding of the Honourable Lower Court that PW5’s medical examination did not indict the Appellant.
5. The Medical report of PWS served no useful purpose at the Trial Court in so far as it was unable to establish that the Appellant had sexual intercourse with the alleged victim of the crime. See: Danladi vs State (2019) 16 NWLR pt. 1698 pg. 342.
6. The Honourable Lower Court ought not to have relied on the worthless testimony of PW5 in the circumstances of this case.
Ground Eleven
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the evidence of PWI it held that her testimony corroborates the evidence of PW2 that the Appellant had sexual intercourse with PW2.
Particulars
1. PWI did not offer any direct evidence that she had witnessed the Appellant defiling or having sexual intercourse with PW2.
2. Corroborative evidence must be direct and derived from an independent source.
3. PWI from the video evidence tendered was confronted with allegations of torture, child abuse and physical assault against PW2
4. There was also evidence on record that while the Appellant was in custody PWI had taken steps to defraud the Appellant.
5. It was apparent that PWI stood to benefit from the Appellant’s conviction and incarceration.
6. The evidence of PWI was so badly discredited and it was wrongful for the Honourable Lower Court to have relied on it in convicting the Appellant.
Ground Twelve
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the evidence of PWI it held that the failure of CSP Patricia Amadi to testify was not fatal to the case of the Prosecution.
Particulars
1. The prosecution had alleged that the Appellant confessed to the commission of the crime before CSP Patricia Amadi and not any other person.
2. The purported confession as relayed by PWI was relied upon by the Honourable Lower Court even when the confession was directed at PWI
3. The testimony of PWI having been tainted with malice was so badly discredited that the Honourable Lower Court ought not to have considered or relied upon same in that regard.
4. The presence of CSP Patricia Amadi was vital and the failure of the Prosecution to call her was fatal to the Prosecution’s case in so far as the Prosecution relied on the confession purportedly made before her.
Ground Thirteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when without inquiring into the allegation of the Appellant that he wrote Exhibit H under duress, it proceeded to rely on the said Exhibit and its contents.
Particulars
1. At the stage of tendering Exhibit H, the Appellant had stated categorically that the said statement was written by him under extreme duress.
2. Duress implies that the statement was not written by the Appellant voluntarily. See: CCCTCS vs Ekpo (2001) 17 NWLR pt. 743 pg. 649; Oilserv ltd vs. L.A. Ibeanu & Co. Nig Ltd (2008) 2 NWLR pt. 1070 pg. 191.
3. The Appellant also stated that the date on the statement was clearly altered and his lawyer was not with him on the 29th of November, 2021 when the statement was purportedly written.
4. The law is settled that where a Defendant challenges the voluntariness of a confessional statement the Court ought to conduct an inquiry through a trial within trial proceedings. See: Giki vs State (2018) 6 NWLR pt. 1615 pg. 237; Olayinka vs State (2007) 9 NWLR pt. 1040 pg. 561.
5. Having failed to conduct a trial within trial, the Honourable Lower Court was wrong to have relied on the said confessional statement in convicting the Appellant.
6. The decision of the Honourable Lower Court has occasioned a travesty of justice.
Ground Fourteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on Exhibit H, it held that:
“…there is consistent evidence that his lawyer was there when he wrote it…I believe he wrote Exhibit H on 29/11/2021. It was made in the presence of his lawyer. His evidence that he wrote it on 05/12/2021 is an after-thought. It is inconsistent with other pieces of evidence. It is a lie.”
Particulars
1. Particulars of ground 13 are hereby repeated.
Ground Fifteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding the Appellant’s allegation that Exhibit H was written under duress, it came to the conclusion that it was counter-signed by the Appellant and CSP Patricia Amadi who never gave evidence at the Trial.
Particulars
1. Particulars of ground 13 are hereby repeated.
2. CSP Patricia Amadi who allegedly counter-signed the said Exhibit H with the Appellant never gave evidence before the Court.
3. Having not had the opportunity of listening to the testimony or evidence of the named CSP Patricia Amadi, the Honourable Lower Court was wrong to have come to the conclusion that the said Exhibit H was written by the Appellant and counter-signed by the said CSP Patricia Amadi.
4. No video evidence was presented to the Court in accordance with Sections 15 (4) of the Administration of Justice Act 2015.
5. The decision of the Honourable Lower Court was not based on credible evidence before it.
Ground Sixteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding the allegation of torture and child abuse levelled against PWI by PW2 it proceeded to rely on the testimony of PW1 in convicting the Appellant.
Particulars
1. There was evidence on record that PW1 had tortured and abused PW2 which culminated with the meeting in the residence of the named Aunty Tessy.
2. It was in the course of PWI torturing and abusing PW2 that PW2 said she was tired and that “you people want to kill me.”
3. It was the evidence of the defence that PWI had tortured PW2 to implicate the Appellant.
4. The inference to be drawn is that PWI’s complaint was clearly a deflection plan from the allegation against her.
5. With the evidence of torture and child abuse against PWI the evidence and testimony of PWI was unreliable.
6. The Honourable Lower Court ought to have been cautious and wary in ascribing any credibility to the testimony and evidence of PW1.
Ground Seventeen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding the evidence of the matrimonial dispute between the Appellant and PW1 it proceeded to treat the testimony of PWI as credible.
Particulars
1. There was evidence of the matrimonial dispute between the Appellant and PWI.
2. It was apparent that PWI had scores to settle with the Appellant arising from their matrimonial dispute.
3. PWI was the Complainant and the mastermind behind the allegations leveled against the Appellant.
4. With the evidence of the matrimonial dispute it was apparent that the evidence and testimony of PWI was tainted with malice.
Ground Eighteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it resolved the issue of voluntariness of Exhibit H from the contents on the face of the document and the demeanour of the Appellant without conducting a trial within trial proceedings.
Particulars
1. Particulars of ground 13 are hereby repeated.
Ground Nineteen
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that:
“…Exhibit H is consistent with other established evidence. Exhibit P13-14 is not. For this reason, I must reject the Defendant’s denials in Exhibit P13- 14 as an afterthought.”
Particulars
1. Particulars of ground 13 are hereby repeated.
2. The law is settled that when an accused person makes two contradictory statements, one being a confessional statement and the other a retraction of the latter, neither of the statements is reliable. See: Ekpo vs State (2003) 17 NWLR pt. 849 pg. 392; Oladejo vs State (1987) 3 NWLR pt. 61 pg. 419; Yongo vs. COP (1990) 5 NWLR pt. 148 pg. 103.
3. With Exhibit H and Exhibits P13-P14 being contradictory of each other, the Honourable Lower Court ought not to have relied on Exhibit H in convicting the Appellant.
Ground Twenty
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when despite the Appellant’s allegation that Exhibit HI was edited by PWI and Exhibit H2 written by him. under duress it proceeded to rely on both documents to convict the Appellant without conducting a trial within trial proceeding
Particulars
1. At the stage of tendering Exhibits HI and H2, the Appellant had stated categorically that Exhibit HI was edited by PWI and Exhibit H2 written by him under duress.
2. Clearly the Appellant had put the voluntariness of these Exhibits in issue.
3. In the circumstances, the Honourable Lower Court ought to have immediately conducted a Trial within Trial to determine if the said Exhibits were voluntarily written by the Appellant before relying on same.
Ground Twenty-One
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding its holding that:
“I have considered the whole of Exhibit H1. It is inconsistent with other pieces of evidence that the Defendant had sexual intercourse with the prosecutrix and penetrated her mouth with his penis.”
it proceeded to hold that Exhibit HI constituted an admission against the Appellant.
Particulars
1. The Honourable Lower Court had held that Exhibit HI was inconsistent with the evidence that the Appellant had sexual intercourse with PW2.
2. Yet the Honourable Lower Court proceeded to hold that the said Exhibit HI constituted an admission against the Appellant.
3. How a document which is/was inconsistent with the evidence before the Court amounted to an admission for the purpose of convicting the Appellant beats the Appellant’s imagination
4. The Honourable Lower Court approbated and reprobated at the same time.
Ground Twenty-Two
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that:
“…I have looked at Exhibit H2. Olalekan Gureje witnessed it. He also attached his NBA seal with the number SCN091270. I do not believe it was done under duress.”
Particulars
1. The Appellant had challenged the voluntariness of Exhibit H2.
2. The law is settled that where a purported confessional statement is challenged on the grounds on involuntariness, the Trial Court is duty bound to conduct a Trial within Trial. See: Emeka vs State (2001) 14 NWLR pt. 734 pg. 666.
3. The page of Exhibit H2 that had the seal of the named Olalekan Gureje did not indict the Appellant in respect of the offences for which he was charged.
4. The named Olalekan Guruje never gave evidence before the Court that he was present.
Ground Twenty-Three
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that
“The confession was corroborated by other pieces of evidence already established, including the evidence of his wife (PWI), the prosecutrix (PW2) and even the videos (Exhibit G1-G2) tendered by the defence.”
Particulars
1. Both PWI and PW2 were demonstrably not credible witnesses.
2. The video recordings before the Court showed PWI coaching PW2 on the nature of evidence to give against the Appellant.
3. PW2 in the video recording stated clearly that the Appellant never released sperm on her contrary to her testimony in Court.
4. The Appellant by his defence did not corroborate the case of the prosecution rather the Appellant created sufficient doubts in the case of the prosecution.
5. The case of the prosecution was punctured by the defence.
Ground Twenty-Four
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it failed to consider the defence of the Appellant that PWI his wife was motivated by financial gains, including taking the family home in Maryland, Lagos, the Appellant’s car and monies in their joint account.
Particulars
1. The Appellant had led evidence that PWI was motivated by greed and her personal desire to acquire and takeover all his assets.
2. The representative of Wema Bank Plc had tendered Exhibit J dated 28th day of February, 2021 but received in the Bank on the 17th of March, 2022 presented by PWI to remove the Appellant as a signatory of their joint account and make her the sole signatory.
3. Exhibit J was clearly written in the handwriting of PW1 and submitted by her to the Bank.
4. The Honourable Lower Court ought not to have treated the Appellant’s defence on the peculiar interest of PW1 with a wave of the hand particularly as PWI was to gain more from the conviction and incarceration of the Appellant.
5. The Honourable Lower Court with respect slaughtered justice.
Ground Twenty-Five
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that the prosecution had established beyond reasonable doubt that the Appellant had sexual intercourse with PW2 and penetrated her mouth and ejaculated into it repeatedly between March, 2020 and November, 2021.
Particulars
1. The medical examination purportedly took place on the 15 day of March, 2022 about four months after the allegation was made against the Appellant.
2. The Medical Certificate of PW5 showed that PW2 was being examined in relation to sexual assault that took place at 2.45pm on the 15th of March, 2022 after the Appellant had left the matrimonial homes.
3. In the video recording played in open Court, PW2 stated emphatically that the Appellant never released sperm on her or inserted his penis into her.
4. From the two count information filed against the Appellant, it was alleged that the Appellant committed the offence between February, 2020 and November, 2021.
5. It was the finding of the Honourable Trial Court that the medical examination of PW5 did not indict the Appellant.
6. There was nothing before the Court to link the Appellant to the allegations which resulted to the medical examination contained in the medical certificate tendered by PW5.
7. There was nothing to show and point to the fact that the only person capable of committing the offence as charged was the Appellant.
8. Sufficient doubt was created in the prosecution’s case and as such it was unsafe of the Trial Court to have convicted the Appellant.
Ground Twenty-Six
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the evidence of PW2 and PW3 and Exhibit P-P10, it held that:
“There were threats and cohesion by the Defendant to maintain control of the prosecutrix.”
Particulars
1. The evidence of PW3 and the report tendered by her was based solely on what was reported to her by PW2.
2. There is evidence on record that PWI had tortured and abused PW2.
3. PW2 had stated in her evidence that the Appellant had seen her with the gateman in the past and she was afraid that the Appellant will report her to PWI.
4. In the circumstances it was wrong for the Honourable Lower Court to have accepted the evidence of PW2 and PW3 hook, line and sinker.
Ground Twenty-Seven
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it failed to consider, evaluate or ascribe any value or weight to the Appellant’s defence that PWI his wife was motivated by her ill intentions in bringing the complaint against him.
Particulars
1. Particulars of grounds 17 & 24 are hereby repeated.
Ground Twenty-Eight
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it refused to follow the decision in Simon vs. State (2022) LPELR-78178 (CA) where it was held then an inquiry is necessary where the age of an accused is in issue on the basis that the:
“…issue in Simon arose from a conviction of a minor for armed robbery and his sentence to death.”
Particulars
1. The law is settled that where the age of a person is in issue before the Court, the Court is duty bound to conduct an inquiry into the age.
2. The fact that the case of Simon vs State (Supra) arose from a conviction of a minor was not a material or substantial dissimilarity to make the principle on the need to conduct an inquiry inapplicable in the instant case.
3. The principle of stare decisis enjoins a court to follow the earlier judicial decisions when similar points or issues arise before the Court. See: Mailantarki v. Tango (2017) LPELR-42467 (SC).
4. By the decision of Tobi JSC in the case of Adetoun Oladeji (Nig) Ltd v. N.B. Ple (2007) 5 NWLR pt. 1027 pg. 415 at 436 the facts need not be on all fours before a lower court would be bound to follow same. Once the facts are materially or substantially the same then the lower court is bound to follow the decision of the superior court.
5. The Honourable Lower Court ought to have followed the decision in Simon vs State (Supra).
Ground Twenty-Nine
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the decision in James v. State of Lagos State (2021) LPELR-52456 (CA) it held that circumstantial evidence can be used to determine a person’s age.
Particulars
1. The law is settled that an earlier decision will only constitute a binding precedent when the facts of such previous decision are on all fours with the facts of the present case. Dalhatu v. Turaki (2003) 15 NWLR pt. 843 pg. 310; Nobis-Elendu v. INEC & Ors (2015) LPELR-25127 (SC); Dr. Umar Ardo v. Admiral Murtala Nyako & Ors (2014) LPELR-22878 (SC); Nigeria Agip Oil Company Ltd v. Chief Gift Nkweke (2016) LPELR- 26060 (SC).
2. In the case of James vs Lagos State (Supra) the Honourable Court of Appeal recognized the modes of establishing the age of a child to include, direct evidence of a person that witnessed the birth, birth certificate and opinion of an expert who examined the person whose age is in issue. All of which were not met in that case.
3. In that case the prosecution had put the age of the victim of the crime at 14 years while the defence put the age at 16 years. The Court was of the view that whichever may be the case, the victim was a Child by virtue of the Child’s Right Law of Lagos State.
4. It was also apparent from the record in that case that a birth certificate from the National Population Commission had been shown to the victim of the crime which she confirmed was not fake even though the defence was of the view that it was fake. Unfortunately, that birth certificate did not form part of the records of appeal and the Court of Appeal was of the view that if the defence alleged the certificate was fake the burden of proof was on the defence to so prove
5. The Court of Appeal was of the view that in the absence of the birth certificate forming part of the records of appeal it could not interfere with the finding of facts of the Trial Court.
6. All these facts were not present in the instant case and as such the Honourable Lower Court ought not to have followed the decision in James vs Lagos State (Supra).
7. No birth certificate or any evidence of any relative that witnessed the birth of the alleged victim was adduced at the Honourable Lower Court.
Ground Thirty
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relation to Exhibit G, it held that:
“…One day…the prosecutrix challenged the Defendant’s wife (PW1). She admitted she was rude to the Defendant’s wife (PW1). She said she was tired that “you people want to kill me.” The Defendant’s wife (PWI) beat her. The video (Exhibit G) was played in court. The defence submits that that was when the Defendant’s wife (PWI) tortured the prosecutrix (PW2) to implicate the Defendant. But that is not true.”
Particulars
1. Exhibit G as played in the open Court showed PWI torturing and physically abusing PW2.
2. With the manner in which PWI had beaten PW2 and her statement that “you people want to kill me” it was apparent that PW2’s grievance was with PWI who had beaten her up and not the Appellant.
3. It was the incident of PWI torturing and assaulting PW2 that led to the meeting in Aunty Tessy’s house.
4. The burden was on the prosecution to prove and establish that PWI’s act of torture and abuse on PW2 and subsequent complaint was not a deflection to implicate the Appellant.
Ground Thirty-One
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when notwithstanding the evidence of PW2 that the Appellant had seen her conversing with the gateman Meshach and she was scared that the Appellant will report her to his wife, it proceeded to ascribe probative value to the testimony of PW2.
Particulars
1. PW2 had admitted in her evidence that the Appellant had seen her with the gateman Meshach.
2. PW2 had also stated that she was scared that the Appellant would report her to his wife PWI that she was conversing with the gateman, Meshach.
3. The allegation of rape was made four months after the initial complaint.
4. There was sufficient opportunity before and after the allegation for some other person to have been responsible for the sexual experience purportedly contained in the medical certificate.
5. In the circumstances of the case, PW2 evidence and testimony was unreliable for the purpose of convicting the Appellant.
Ground Thirty-Two
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when it held that:
“…I do not believe the prosecutrix (PW2) was tortured to give the evidence she gave… Also, she was not tortured to give such damning evidence against the Defendant. The testimony of the Child Forensic Interviewer (PW3) shows that the prosecutrix (PW2) was not tortured. The video recording of her evidence (Exhibit P1) demonstrates the interview’s independence and openness. I do not believe the Child Forensic Interviewer (PW3) had an ulterior motive. I also must disagree with the defence that I must discard the Child Forensic Interviewer’s (PW3) evidence because it was conducted on 5 October, 2022, when the prosecutrix (PW2) was over eighteen.”
Particulars
1. Particulars of ground 30 are herby repeated.
2. The allegation leveled against the Appellant was in November, 2021.
3. PW2 ought to have been interviewed by PW3 soon after the allegation was made against the Appellant at the Gender Unit.
4. Time had lapsed between the purported time of commission of the crime and the time PW2 was interviewed by PW3.
5. In the circumstances of the case, the evidence of PW3 and Exhibit PI were manifestly unreliable
Ground Thirty-Three
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in convicting the Appellant on the evidence and testimony of PW2 it held that:
“…corroboration is not compulsory.”
Particulars
1. The law is trite that in cases of defilement or sexual assault of a child, the evidence of such child must be corroborated. See: James vs State of Lagos (2021) LPELR-52456 (CA); Eze vs State (2019) LPELR-47984 (CA); Aje vs State (2019) LPELR-46828 (CA).
2. Such corroboration must be credible, outside and independent of the testimony of the child.
3. The evidence of all the witnesses of the prosecution that purportedly corroborated the testimony of PW2 were all derived from PW2 herself.
4. Furthermore, such corroboration must not only indicate that the crime was committed it must show that the Defendant indeed committed the offence.
5. The prosecution’s case was bereft of any cogent and or credible independent corroborative evidence.
Ground Thirty-Four
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law when in relying on the evidence of PWI, it held that:
“…She said the Defendant confirmed he was a sex addict. In law, an oral confession is as potent as a written confession. It is a piece of direct and convictable
evidence… It also corroborates the prosecutrix’s (PW2) testimony that the Defendant had sexual intercourse with her and forced her to suck his penis.”
Particulars
1. The Appellant was not charged for being a sex addict.
2. By the provision of the Evidence Act a confession is an admission made by a person directly. It is a statement made by a person charged with a criminal offence. See: Uluebeka vs State (2000) LPELR-3354 (SC).
3. The testimony or evidence of PW1 against the Appellant could not constitute a confession against the Appellant.
Ground Thirty-Five
The Honourable Lower Court erred in law in resorting to use of circumstantial evidence in the determination of the age of PW2 and thereby wrongly concluded that PW2 was a child as at the date of the alleged offence.
Particulars
1. Recourse to circumstantial evidence is only permissible where direct evidence is for a good cause, unavailable.
2. By the provision of Sections 7 and 15 of the Births, Deaths, etc. (Compulsory Registration) Act, Cap. 89, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, every birth is mandatorily required to be registered with the registration evidenced by issuance of a Birth Certificate and which Birth Certificate constitutes a direct prima facie evidence of the date of birth of the registrant.
3. It is inconceivable that the birth of PW2 was NOT registered.
4. It was incumbent on the prosecution to adduce explanation of its inability to produce the Birth Certificate of PW2 to justify reliance by the Honourable Lower Court on circumstantial evidence and which burden was not discharged.
5. In the precise reliance of the Honourable Lower Court on circumstantial evidence in substitution for direct evidence (ie. Production of PW2’s Birth Certificate) cannot sustain the finding that PW2 was 16 years old as at the date of the alleged commission of the offence.
4. RELIEFS SOUGHT FROM THE COURT OF APPEAL
i. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court allowing this appeal.
ii. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court setting aside the decision of the Honourable Lower Court contained in the judgment delivered on the 24th day of October, 2023 in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022
iii. AN ORDER setting aside the conviction of and quashing the sentence against the Appellant by the Honourable Lower Court on the 24 day of October, 2023 in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022.
iv. AN ORDER of this Honourable Court discharging and acquitting the Appellant of the offences spelt out on the face of the information filed in Charge No: ID/20289C/2022.
5. PERSONS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE APPEAL
NAME
DR. OLUFEMI OLALEYE …Appellant
ADDRESS
}…C/o His Solicitors
} Pinheiro LP. 5/7, Folayemi Street,
} Off Coker Road, Ilupeju, Lagos.

THE STATE OF LAGOS …Respondent
ADDRESS
}…C/o The Attorney General and
} Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State
} Ministry of Justice, Alausa, Lagos State.
Dated the 24thday of November, 2023

SIGNED BY:
Dr. ‘Kemi Pinheiro, OFR, SAN, FCIArb.,
Olaniyi Olopade, SAN, FCIArb.,
Babatunde Ogala, OFR, SAN.,
Olusegun Fabunmi, SAN..
Chukwudi Adiukwu, Esq..
Adebowale Kamoru, MCIArb.,
Adebisi Oridate, Esq..
Chukwudi Enebeli, MCIArb.,

PINHEIRO LP,
Appellant’s Solicitors
5/7 Folayemi Street, Off Coker Road, Ilupeju, Lagos.
Tel: 08022259872, 08143233555
E-mail: pinheirolp1995@gmail.com; admin@pinheirolp.com;
URL://http.www.pinheirolp.com
chukwudienebelia nigerianbar.ng

FOR SERVICE ON
The Respondent,
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos,
Ministry of Justice, Alausa,
Lagos State.

Notice of Appeal – DR. OLUFEMI V. THE STATE OF LAGOS

Featured

The Solo-Collaborators: How a New Wave of Nigerian Creatives is Redefining the 9-to-5 Tradition

Published

5 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Eric

By Shakirat Akintola

The massive iron ladle clangs against the giant aluminum pot at Iya Sidi’s Bukka, acting as a steady metronome against the loud, aggressive roar of a Tiger generator coughing up smoke nearby.

It’s 11:00am on a Tuesday, and every single plastic chair and wooden bench is claimed. To a casual observer, the crowd looks like a chaotic midday market rush, but look closer and the illusion shatters. There are no shared agendas here, just pure, unadulterated Nigerian hustle operating at different frequencies.

A woman in the corner, ignoring the heat while nursing a cold pet bottle of Fanta, is deep into an HR analytics dashboard on her laptop; two tables down, a guy in a loose-fitting linen top is scrolling intently, editing a fashion lookbook on his phone; right next to him, a software developer with heavy headphones on is furiously debugging code, entirely unfazed by the noise around them.

They do not work for the same company. In fact, most of them don’t work for a boss at all. They are Nigeria’s “solo-collaborators”—a fast-growing demographic of independent professionals, techies, and entrepreneurs who are actively dismantling the traditional Nigerian obsession with the “corporate job.” They have intentionally chosen to build their own empires alone, yet they refuse to be isolated.

Moving Beyond the “Oil and Gas” Dream

For decades, the ultimate Nigerian career blueprint was linear and rigid: graduate with a good degree, secure a spot in an oil major, a tier-one bank, or a telecom giant, and climb the corporate ladder until retirement. But for a generation that came of age amidst economic turbulence, currency fluctuations, and a hyper-connected digital world, the definition of success has radically shifted. Autonomy is the new currency.

“The moment I realized I could build my own brand and solve complex problems on my own terms, the corporate ladder lost all its flavor,” says Segun, a 26-year-old independent brand strategist who transitioned to full-time freelance work after completing his NYSC service year. “I don’t want a boss monitoring my clock-in time at 8:00 AM, and I definitely don’t want to sit through a three-hour meeting just to get permission to change a design color.”

Yet, absolute independence in a city like Lagos or Abuja comes with a tax that isn’t just financial. It’s psychological.

Human beings are inherently social, and Nigerian culture is deeply communal. When you couple the isolation of remote work with the structural realities of working from home—erratic power supply, the sudden drone of a neighbor’s I-better-pass-my-neighbor generator, or the general distractions of a Nigerian household—the solo journey can quickly become draining.

This tension has birthed a fascinating paradox. The modern independent worker wants complete control over their career, but they desperately crave the collective hustle of other human beings.

“Nigeria is high-energy, and you need that energy to survive as a creative,” Segun explains, gesturing to the buzzing space around him. “Working from my room all week can make me feel stuck. I need to see other people grinding. When I see the person next to me locked into their screen, it triggers my own hustle. We are working on completely different planets, but we are in the same orbit.”

The Magic of “Ambient Co-Presence”

Sociologists call this phenomenon ambient co-presence—the feeling of connection that comes from sharing a physical space with others without the obligation of direct interaction. In the solo-collaborative environment, it is the exact antidote to the toxic corporate open-plan office, where proximity often comes with forced office politics and unwanted interruptions.

Here, social interactions are brief, intentional, and entirely unburdened.

“It’s the micro-connections that save your sanity,” says Amina, an independent workforce consultant who splits her week between virtual client calls and hot-desking at a co-working space in Yaba. “It’s a quick laugh with the barista, a shared nod of mutual exhaustion across a desk when the internet acts up for a split second, or a five-minute chat about a new shoe brand or an executive shakeup we read about on TechCabal. There’s no corporate agenda. It’s just pure, uncomplicated human connection.”

This shift has forced a massive redesign of urban spaces across Nigeria’s major cities. Space owners are leaning into the trend, transforming aesthetic spots into laptop-friendly sanctuaries with high-speed fiber internet and uninterrupted power supply. Co-working spaces have evolved from rigid, cubicle-style rentals into vibrant cultural hubs that host art exhibitions, mixer nights, and community pop-ups.

Redefining the Creative Economy

This isn’t just a lifestyle trend for the hip and trendy; it’s an economic transformation. By choosing a decentralized, solo-yet-connected workflow, young Nigerians are bypassing local limitations and plugging directly into the global digital economy. They form fluid, high-skill alliances with other solo operators to execute massive projects—delivering agency-level results for international clients without the burden of corporate overhead.

But the real victory of the solo-collaborator movement is psychological. It proves that independence doesn’t have to mean loneliness, and community doesn’t have to mean compliance.

As the clock strikes 5:00pm, the atmosphere shifts slightly. Laptops stay open, but the conversation flows a bit more freely. Segun packs his headphones into his bag, shares a brief “catch you later” wave with a graphic designer he only knows by her first name, and steps out into the Lagos evening.

The traditional 9-to-5 office might be losing its grip, but the irrepressible Nigerian spirit of community is keeping the workspace alive—one independent desk at a time.

Featured

ICYMI: I Did Not Steal Nigeria’s Money – Former Minister, Diezani Cries Out

Published

1 day ago

June 22, 2026

Eric

By Dele Momodu

What you are about to read is probably the most anticipated story of the year birthed in the long awaited authoritative investigative newspaper of the future. This pregnant saga fell into labour last week in the pre-natal wing of Pendulum ward of Thisday clinic and it has now given birth to a big bouncing baby christened The Boss.

This is an apt metaphor for the melodramatic scoop which is the cover of the first edition of what I believe will be a catalyst for unbiased investigative reporting in Nigeria. The Boss had long been conceptualised as a Leadership newspaper to occupy the void created by lack of true and credible investigative journalism in some traditional and online media. The original plan was to launch in December or early January.

But the Diezani Alison Madueke story changed all that. It was too compelling to restrict to the Pendulum column alone. And here we are with what promises to be an exciting addition to the media landscape in Nigeria and beyond featuring an enthralling cover story that will educate and entertain the readers.

After that effervescent introduction in Thisday, in which Nigeria’s most influential newspaper published the meeting between this reporter and the embattled former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, everyone requested for details of the encounter. Some unbelieving Thomases even suggested the story was pure fiction, or at the very best “faction” to borrow Kole Omotoso’s coinage.

They wondered why a more comprehensive interview could not be published, garnished with clear crispy pictures of Madame Diezani. It was obvious many had read the story in a hurry and did not assimilate the carefully worded tale of a woman in deep pain and anguish for variety of reasons. Of course there were insinuations that it was a public relations stunt but mercifully most readers thought it was a well-balanced story. It even went viral.

At any rate, those who took their time would have noticed that I had to settle for such gripping monologue because it was virtually impossible to extract more information from a cancer patient who had spent her day with her medical team in a private London hospital. Our protagonist had also probably taken the risk of meeting this reporter in order to check if he was going to play the quintessential antagonist or do his job professionally and dispassionately.

That meeting obviously impacted on her decision to open up eventually, two days after episode one. A call came through on Friday November 6, 2015, from a female aide of Mrs Alison-Madueke to request for a meeting the following day at 2.30pm at a location yet to be determined.

The appointment was immediately approved. Later in the evening, this ubiquitous aide made yet another call shifting the appointment forward by a few hours to 11am the same Saturday. My response again was yes. The pot that would eat pepper must endure some heat, says a Yoruba proverb. The Diezani story was worth all the sacrifice in the world. In other climes, journalists would have shown more than cursory in chasing that super exclusive chat. Her copyrighted picture would have fetched a few million dollars, probably. Anyway…

A text message flew into my phone very early Saturday morning. It contained the address and full postcode of a new venue different from the one of two days earlier. Not to worry. My wife offered to chauffeur me again but without her sister this time around. While on our way, the female aide called to ask if we were going to make the 11 o’clock time pronto or arrive late. I replied we would arrive earlier rather than later. I would soon understand the import of her question. Madam Diezani was apparently on her way and I was expected to be comfortably seated prior to her arrival. Presumably, so I would not know how and from what direction she had come. There was no sign this time of any overbearing or anxious security man. Mrs Alison-Madueke had laughingly dismissed as funny my James Bond imagination of Thursday, in any event. Since the meeting was supposed to be strictly one-on-one, my wife had to wait in the car while I was away. The venue turned out to be a popular restaurant near Regent’s Park, famous for its breakfast.

I was a bit surprised and disappointed at the choice of location. I was hoping she was going to give me access to her now famous apartment which was said to have been bought at a most staggering amount, or the new multi-billion dollar home that was rumoured to have triggered the alarm leading to her arrest, claims she would dismiss as tales by moonlight.

I called the mobile number I had been given as I approached the doorway of the restaurant, and her female aide emerged from the bowel of the restaurant to lead me to a somewhat secluded corner where a table has been reserved. I was seated facing the entrance, and hoping I could catch her glimpse whenever she arrives.

After waiting for about 20 minutes or so, I heard some footsteps and the once most powerful woman in Nigeria surfaced. She looked slightly better than at our last meeting and I sprang to my feet as we exchanged pleasantries. I mentioned to her that she looks better and she said she’s been resting and gaining strength in preparation for her radiotherapy. She ordered full English breakfast while I settled only for cappuccino. But when the meal arrived she didn’t eat it because she has lost appetite for food generally and was more on fluids. She then asked for American coffee, water and fresh lime instead. She also ordered for tea at some point. Most of the time we spent talking, she coughed intermittently into a napkin and dabbed her mouth with it but she was clearly determined to pour out her obviously heavy mind despite the discomfort I could notice she was struggling to endure.

Let me reiterate for the sake of those who missed the first part of this story that our two meetings took place on Thursday, November 5 and Saturday, November 7, 2015 at different locations. The first was in a private apartment while the second was in this restaurant. Unlike the first which lasted less than half an hour, we were able to spend more time together this time. Indeed, we were at it for for over a total of just over four hours, and I believe she spoke from the heart, I believe, but the reader is always the judge.

There were several off-the-record interludes. More than anything we were both careful not to discuss in detail matters which might impact on the cases and legal problems now bedevilling her.

Nigeria’s former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke leaves Westminster Magistrates Court in London, Britain, October 02, 2023. REUTERS/ Belinda Jiao

I did not expect otherwise. Mrs. Alison-Madueke is a smart and intelligent woman and had recently benefitted from being advised by lawyers both in UK and Nigeria in connection with her arrest in the UK and the search of her Abuja home.

Getting and persuading her to talk in detail about a lot of issues was therefore very difficult. There were other reasons. First, was her obvious paranoia of the Nigerian press. She’s been bruised, battered and blistered, especially in print and on social media. She’s been scandalised, summarily tried and precipitously convicted by the media, according to her. She did not expect anyone to lend her an ear or listen to her now muffled voice.

On top of her problems, she’s having a running battle with the most dreaded form of cancer of the breast and she’s had to undergo surgeries to remove the lumps and later some chunky tissue. The treatments have not been that successful and it’s been a ding-dong affair for this once ebullient and elegant lady.

We had to give assurances of not sensationalising her story if granted access. Of course it has never been our practice to do so and thus this was not a problem. We promised not to embellish her stories in any way or reveal off-the-record discussions which were truly personal and confidential and had nothing to do with her travails. There was a strict proviso that no form of recording would be allowed and we had to adopt the novelistic style. The result of that covenant is what you’re reading today.

We must note that we were highly restricted and encumbered by strings of events as well as existing litigation and other possible future developments. We could not get as much revelations as we expected but the little we managed to get provided enough insight into a woman who had achieved so much and enjoyed substantial accolades before the sad turn of events. Had she remained in Shell, where she became the first and only female Director, and shunned the murky water of Nigerian politics, maybe she would have savoured the klieglights forever.

We knew it was going to be very difficult getting pictures in her present not too genial or glamorous condition. That was practically tough on our first meeting as she was just returning from her hospital rounds and looked totally exhausted. We however succeeded in getting a few pictures this time some of which we are revealing for the first time today.

The Diezani Alison-Madueke story is a classic study in the intrigues of power-play. Barely months ago, she was at the pinnacle of the temple as Minister of one of the biggest oil-producing nations on earth. She was elected the President of the powerful Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). And the world was at her feet. The cancer issue had crept in, like a thief in the night, but was being treated and managed by the best doctors available in England. There was that optimism that all shall be well at the end until everything that could go wrong started going wrong, like in Murphy’s Law.

Madame Diezani confirmed that she she and the government she served loyally and passionately never thought for one second that Nigerian general elections could turn out the way it did or that they would suffer the crushing and devastating defeat that they did. The first and major casualty would be the woman who controlled the destiny of Nigerians as Petroleum Resources Minister. Under her care, a whopping $20 billion was alleged to have vamoosed into thin air. Till this day, no one has come forward to authenticate the veracity or otherwise of such mind-boggling claims. Instead we’ve received conflicting figures on the supposed infractions.

This is a story like no other and it cannot be told like any other. It is a tale from the super highway of power and the fast lane of confusion. Nothing is sweeter than power and money, in no particular order, as long as you have both you are in the rarefied company of national decision-makers. And nothing is sadder than having both and falling from grace to grass or from fame to infamy. Mrs Alison-Madueke had the world not just at her feet but firmly in her palm. She could apparently turn a certified pauper into a certificated billionaire within the twinkle of an eye. In short, she could make and unmake. Diezani was the subject of many fables. And this is the crux of the matter. Her closeness to President Jonathan and the influence she wielded on him was never a hidden matter. This lent credence to the mystical power over the Nigerian economy that it was claimed she possessed. I fired my first shot from that direction and it was as if she expected it:

“Is it true that a sister of yours has a kid or kids for President Jonathan?” I asked. “That is totally untrue as I don’t have any such sister or relative!” she said. She wondered how people could fabricate such blatant lies.

I soon followed with what I regarded as an upper-cut: “It was said that you and the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan were in permanent conflict; why was it so?” She responded that their relationship was cordial enough and she gave the former First Lady the respect she should give the wife of her boss. She went further to say that “What people don’t know is that we’ve been family friends for long. My mum, Mrs Beatrice Agama, has always played the role of a godmother in the Niger Delta and all the militants love and respect her. I come from a royal and privileged background and lacked nothing.”

She said she was not unaware of certain insinuations about an intimate relationship with the former President but she never bothered her head about them because some people had made up their minds to spread those ugly tales about her. “If you are in the corridor of power, you must expect anything, including mud and even bricks being thrown at you.”

Now wait for the next shot! “You’ve been linked to so many young guys who made so much money from you and later absconded or turned against you… What was between you and Chris Aire, Kola Aluko, Jide Omokore, Tonye Cole, Dapo Abiodun, Wale Tinubu, Igho Sanomi and others?” I queried her.

Madame Diezani’s response was calm and unruffled: “I vehemently deny any intimacy or liaison with any of these gentlemen.” She noted that she is happily married like most of them are happily married and asserted that she is not the Scarlet Lady that people paint her to be. She sees those rumours as insults on accomplished women who cannot be seen in sensitive positions without running riotous with some men. She said it was important to put in context how she met most of them:

“I was the Chairman of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board and I did my job to the best of ability and intentions. My boss and I were determined to empower Nigerians, especially the young ones, who had the brains and guts to dare.” She pointed out that her firm belief and desire to empower Nigerians stemmed from the manner that she and her parents and siblings were unceremoniously dumped out of Shell Camp where her father worked and lived while she was young.

The memory was apparently traumatic as I could notice her wiping her eyes with another handkerchief. She said “I remember that day vividly. It was definitely one of the worst days of my life. We were not even allowed to finish eating before they hurriedly packed our belongings, threw them into trucks and drove us into an uncertain, unknown future.”

She continued “I was determined that what my father fought for, which was to ensure that Nigerians had a greater say in the scheme of things in Shell and thus in the petroleum industry would be championed and achieved by me in Government.”

She noted that in every government, some people must land the big jobs which every human being would love to have. She said “I chose to empower mostly Nigerians and took the power away from foreigners who used to dominate the sector. That was why we pushed for the Nigerian Content Bill, which mercifully we got through. So you cannot expect some forces not to hate me but I was shocked that Nigerians themselves were ready to crucify me mostly on rumours and not verifiable facts. Most leaders before me have suffered a similar fate so I take some comfort from that experience.”

She added that people seem to forget that she is happily married to Rear Admiral Alison Madueke and would not do anything to jeopardise her marriage or smear herself in the eyes of her husband, children and family. She also said that some of these men were unknown to her until she became a Minister and that although, in some cases, they later enjoyed a cordial relationship with her, it was no more than the kind of relationship she enjoyed with other successful Nigerian businessmen who respected and admired her for the way she was bringing Nigerians to the forefront of the industry:

“It is unfortunate that things didn’t work perfectly all the time as expected and as a leader I take the blame for those imperfections, but I’m certainly not a demon as being portrayed. I have no doubt that I served my nation well, the reason my colleagues at OPEC supported me despite the opposition from my own people. I still maintain that level of relationship with my former colleagues despite not being in government.“

I then asked why is she so controversial? “Controversy has nothing to do with your qualifications or performance. As a matter of fact, people often hate you for knowing so much and for being efficient and confident which they mistake for arrogance. We had to confront so many challenges, including oil theft and general insecurity but we did very well even if we did not succeed 100 percent. I must say that some of our own people delivered responsibly while a few of them breached the faith and wasted the opportunities handed to them by my boss, President Jonathan. Unfortunately, no one ever remembers the things that went right but everyone remembers and tends to emphasise the things that went wrong…”

We soon moved the discussion to the many allegations of financial impropriety under her tenure, especially the alleged disappearance of $20billion and other wasteful spending authorised by her. She observed that she could not go into any real details because of the criminal investigations in Nigeria and England as well as the civil case here. However, she told me she would try and provide general details about these matters because it was important to shed some light on her own involvement from the vantage point of someone actually in Government who believes these things simply cannot happen.

She was visibly angry at the mention of the $20billion: “If there is one issue I must pursue in this world it is the biggest lie of this money. How can $20billion disappear just like that? Where did it disappear to? Is it possible that such an amount would not be traceable? This is more painful coming from someone I considered a good friend who should appreciate the gravity of such allegation. I challenge anyone to come forward with facts showing that I stole government or public money. I’ve never stolen Nigeria’s money…”

“Rather I worked hard to halt the rampant business of round-tripping. When I brought in Reginald Stanley to clean up the place, I requested for a list of the defaulters. There were about 92 of them and I made sure we sanctioned them. You can imagine the threat to my life but I was ready to defend the economic interests of my country. In fact, we were able to reduce the oil subsidy by about half. No one has applauded our effort.

“There were those who said the then Governor of Central Bank must have been angry at me because of the way the Presidency treated him. In all honesty, he was being blocked from seeing the President by some of Oga’s people (presidential aides) but it had nothing to do with me. I was the one who even told Oga about the development and Oga said he would meet him in London on one of his trips. Unfortunately my boss fell ill and was rushed to King Edward Hospital and the meeting was aborted.”

“Sanusi and I had been friends. There was no way I would have done anything bad to him. He even came to my house to inform me about his interest in heading the African Development Bank and we discussed for about two hours. I promised to support him and I spoke to Oga about it. We were together on the Reconciliation Committee that looked into the accounts of NNPC. Yes there were gaps but not on the alarming scale being circulated. Markafi (former Governor of Kaduna State) did a thorough job. You know he is a very sound accountant.”

What about the allegations that she owns choice properties everywhere? “It is so sad that anyone could say such about me. Let me say something to you, I live with my husband in the same house we’ve lived since we married in 1999. Ask anyone who knows us. Our house in Abuja was bought in 2007 by my husband and as an architect and lover of interior décor I did it up to our own taste. It is not over the top because I have good taste and appreciate bargains. I shop in regular shops like B & Q to do up all the places where I live. Anyone who tells you I have houses anywhere should feel free to publish them. That was how they said I bought an expensive property in Vienna. I went to court and I won the case. I never saw the house before except in picture. The house I stay in London is rented. As a woman I love to look good. Some of my dresses and jewelleries are often dumped on me by those I buy from and I pay them when I can…”

She went on to explain that virtually all the transactions in respect of which allegations of corruption are being levelled against her went through due process and that the Group Managing Director of NNPC was actively involved in ensuring that the best international practices were maintained. She added that her involvement in the conclusion of these transactions was limited and that some of the contracts had been executed before she became Minister of Petroleum Resources. In some other cases she only got details after the contracts had been concluded when approached by some businessmen who complained about the terms. She usually admonished them to forego the contracts if they felt they were not profitable and seek other ventures within the industry.

But she emphasised that her boss neither discriminated against nor favoured anyone. She claimed some of those who benefited the most were even in opposition and mentioned how a renowned opposition leader and vocal critic of the Government at the time met her on about three occasions to discuss his interests in the business of oil.

“My boss didn’t want Nigerians to suffer because of politics so we agreed to offer certain support to a company we knew was owned by the opposition once we were satisfied they controlled the market substantially and have what it takes to deliver the goods nationwide. We were that tolerant…”

Featured

Who Gets the Blame When Opportunities Disappear? The South Africa Example

Published

2 days ago

June 21, 2026

Eric

By Anjorin Fehintola Stella

As South Africa approaches June 30, the date set by certain anti-immigrant groups as deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country, tensions surrounding immigration have once again captured national and international attention. These groups have argued forcefully and publicly that foreigners are responsible for rising unemployment, escalating crime, and increasing pressure on already overstretched public services such as hospitals, schools, and housing. The debate has sparked strong and deeply divided reactions across the continent, raising urgent concerns about xenophobia, social cohesion, human rights, and the future of African unity at a time when continental cooperation has never been more necessary.

Yet beneath the headlines and the heated rhetoric lies a deeper and more unsettling question; Why do immigrants so often become targets during periods of economic and social uncertainty? And what does the persistence of this pattern tell us about how societies respond when the gap between expectation and reality becomes too painful to confront honestly?

The current tensions in South Africa are not simply about immigration. They reflect broader and far more complex struggles over identity, opportunity, belonging, and the distribution of scarce resources in a society still grappling with the deep and unresolved legacies of apartheid and structural inequality. To reduce the debate to a question of who should or should not be in the country is to miss what is truly at stake, both for South Africa and for the wider African continent.

Throughout history, societies facing economic hardship have repeatedly searched for visible and identifiable groups to blame for problems that are in reality deeply structural and systemic. This is not a uniquely South African phenomenon. It is a recurring pattern in human social behaviour that has appeared across cultures, continents, and centuries. In post-World War One Germany, economic devastation and national humiliation were channelled into blame directed at Jewish communities, with catastrophic consequences. In the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, rising unemployment across parts of Europe fuelled hostility toward immigrant communities in countries including Greece, Hungary, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, periods of economic contraction have historically coincided with surges in anti-immigrant sentiment directed at whichever group happened to be most recently arrived and most visibly different from the majority. The pattern is consistent, when jobs become scarce, living costs rise, and opportunities diminish, frustration seeks an outlet, and that outlet is rarely the complex institutional and policy failures that actually caused the hardship.

This phenomenon is commonly and usefully referred to as scapegoating. Rather than confronting the structural causes of social and economic challenges, which are difficult to understand, slow to change, and rarely produce a satisfying emotional response, public frustration is redirected toward groups that are politically vulnerable, socially distinct, and easy to identify. Immigrants fit this profile in almost every society where they are present in significant numbers. They look different, speak differently, worship differently, and occupy a social position that makes them easy to portray as outsiders who do not belong and therefore do not deserve the resources they are perceived to be consuming.

South Africa’s situation reflects many of these dynamics with particular intensity, shaped by a history that makes its current crisis both understandable and deeply tragic.

Despite being one of Africa’s most industrialized and developed economies, South Africa continues to experience some of the highest levels of unemployment on the continent and indeed in the world. Official unemployment figures have consistently exceeded thirty percent in recent years, with youth unemployment reaching even more alarming levels. Economic inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, remains among the highest of any country on earth. Millions of South African citizens continue to live in poverty, in informal settlements without adequate sanitation or electricity, with limited access to quality healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. These are not new problems. They are the accumulated product of centuries of colonial exploitation and decades of apartheid, a system that was specifically designed to concentrate wealth, land, and opportunity in the hands of a small racial minority while deliberately excluding the majority from the formal economy.

For many South Africans, the promise of economic transformation that accompanied the end of apartheid in 1994 and the dawn of democracy remains painfully and visibly unfulfilled. While political freedom was achieved, and while the legal architecture of racial discrimination was dismantled, economic inclusion has proven far more difficult and far slower to realize. Land remains heavily concentrated. Corporate ownership remains skewed. Access to capital, education, and professional networks continues to reflect the inequalities of the past. This disconnect between the political promises of liberation and the economic realities of daily life has contributed to growing frustration and disillusionment, particularly among younger South Africans who were born after apartheid ended and who cannot understand why freedom has not yet translated into opportunity.

In such an environment, immigrants often become symbols of broader anxieties that have little to do with immigration itself. Many foreign nationals living in South Africa come from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Somalia, Ethiopia, and other parts of the continent. They operate small businesses in townships and urban centers, work in informal sectors, provide services, and seek economic opportunities that are unavailable or severely constrained in their home countries. Their presence within local communities creates visibility. And that visibility, in a context of scarcity and frustration, can generate the perception that they are taking jobs, occupying business spaces, or accessing services that rightfully belong to citizens.

This perception, however, frequently diverges significantly from the evidence. Research on the economic impact of immigration in South Africa and elsewhere consistently shows that immigrants do not simply take jobs from citizens. They also create jobs, start businesses that employ local workers, fill skills gaps in sectors where domestic supply is insufficient, and contribute to local economies through their spending, taxation, and economic activity. A Nigerian shopkeeper in a township is not stealing an opportunity from a South African. In many cases, that shopkeeper has created a service, employed assistants, and provided affordable goods in a community that was previously underserved. The relationship between immigration and unemployment is complex, contested among economists, and cannot be reduced to the simple arithmetic of more people competing for fewer jobs.

Consider, for example, the experience of a Zimbabwean trader who crossed into South Africa after Zimbabwe’s economic collapse in the late 2000s. Having lost his savings and his livelihood to hyperinflation and political instability, he arrived with little more than skills and determination. Over years of persistent effort, he built a small clothing stall, then a shop, then a small enterprise employing three South African workers. He pays rent to a South African landlord, buys stock from South African suppliers, and contributes to the local economy in ways that are invisible in anti-immigrant rhetoric but very real in the daily life of his community. His story is not exceptional. It is representative of countless immigrants whose contributions are routinely overlooked in debates that reduce their presence to a threat.

The reality is that unemployment, poverty, and inequality in South Africa cannot be meaningfully explained by immigration. These challenges are the product of historical dispossession, inadequate education infrastructure, insufficient investment in skills development, failures of governance and service delivery, and the structural features of an economy that has not succeeded in creating opportunities fast enough to absorb its growing population. These are the real causes of South Africa’s economic distress. They are difficult to address, require sustained political will, and do not lend themselves to simple solutions or satisfying emotional narratives.

However, complex explanations rarely generate the same emotional response as simple ones. When people experience prolonged hardship, when they watch their children go hungry, when they cannot afford school fees or medical care, when they have applied for jobs repeatedly and been rejected, the desire for immediate and identifiable answers becomes overwhelming. In that state of distress, a narrative that points to a visible group of outsiders as the source of the problem offers something that structural analysis cannot, a clear villain and the emotional relief of righteous anger. This is not a failure of intelligence. It is a very human response to pain. But it is a response that, when translated into policy or action, produces injustice rather than solutions.

The consequences of xenophobic sentiment extend far beyond those who are directly targeted. When anti-immigrant hostility becomes normalized in public discourse, it weakens the social trust upon which functioning communities depend. It creates fear and suspicion where cooperation and mutual support are needed. It divides communities along lines of origin and nationality at precisely the moment when shared challenges require collective response. In South Africa, where the wounds of racial division already run deep, the addition of nationality-based hostility adds another layer of fracture to a society that is still in the long process of healing.

For the immigrants themselves, the impact of this hostility can be devastating and sometimes fatal. South Africa has experienced multiple episodes of deadly xenophobic violence over the past two decades, including the widespread attacks of 2008 in which over sixty people were killed, and subsequent outbreaks in 2015 and beyond. Shops and homes were looted and burned. Families were displaced. People who had built lives over years lost everything in days. Many of those targeted had lived in South Africa for decades, raised children there, built businesses, and considered it home. In moments of mob violence, none of that mattered. What mattered was that they were perceived as foreign.

The South African experience raises uncomfortable but necessary questions about African solidarity and the meaning of continental unity in practice. Africa has a long and rich tradition of intra-continental migration. People have moved across the continent in search of pasture, trade, education, employment, and safety for thousands of years. These movements have contributed to cultural exchange, the spread of knowledge, economic growth, and the complex and vibrant diversity that characterizes African societies today. The idea that Africans should be hostile to other Africans seeking opportunity within the continent sits in painful tension with the values of solidarity and shared humanity that African political and cultural traditions have long celebrated.

As African countries continue to pursue greater economic and political cooperation through frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area, which envisions the free movement of goods, services, and eventually people across the continent, the challenge will be to translate those institutional commitments into genuine cultural and social acceptance at the community level. Trade agreements and policy frameworks matter enormously. But they cannot achieve their full potential in societies where ordinary people view fellow Africans as threats rather than as partners and neighbors.

None of this means that governments should ignore legitimate concerns about border management or the pressures placed on public services by large-scale immigration. Every sovereign nation has both the right and the responsibility to manage its borders and regulate the flow of people entering its territory. Immigration policy is a legitimate area of governance, and there are real and valid questions about how to ensure that public services are adequately funded to serve growing populations, how to manage informal settlements, and how to create pathways to legal status for long-term residents. These are proper subjects for policy debate and democratic deliberation. However, there is a fundamental and morally significant difference between addressing immigration through careful, rights-respecting policy and assigning blame for complex, historically rooted societal problems to people who had nothing to do with creating them.

The current debate in South Africa serves as a sobering reminder that economic hardship tests the strength of social order in ways that prosperity rarely does. It reveals how quickly frustration can be redirected toward those perceived as different, and how easily social divisions can deepen when the competition for scarce resources becomes acute. It also reveals the critical importance of leadership in such moments. When political leaders and public figures validate scapegoating narratives for short-term political gain, they legitimize hostility and make violence more likely. When they speak honestly about structural causes and call for solidarity, they create space for more constructive responses. The role of leadership in shaping how societies respond to economic stress cannot be overstated.

Media also bears significant responsibility in these moments. The way immigration is framed in news coverage, in social media discourse, and in public commentary shapes how ordinary people understand the issue and where they direct their frustration. Reporting that reduces immigrants to numbers and threats, that amplifies the most extreme anti-immigrant voices without context or counter-narrative, and that fails to humanize the people at the center of the debate contributes to the very climate of hostility that makes violence possible. Responsible journalism on migration requires not only accuracy but empathy and context.

Ultimately, the question confronting South Africa is larger than immigration itself. It is about how societies respond when expectations collide painfully with reality, when the promises of the past remain unfulfilled in the present, and when the future looks uncertain. Do they find the political courage and social will to confront the structural challenges that limit opportunity and perpetuate inequality? Or do they retreat into the easier and more emotionally satisfying path of finding groups to blame? History offers a sobering and consistent lesson. When opportunities disappear, someone is almost always held responsible. The real measure of a society’s maturity, its justice, and its humanity lies in whether it has the honesty and the courage to ensure that blame does not become a substitute for solutions. For South Africa, and for many societies navigating similar pressures across the world, the path forward will not be found in the targeting of the vulnerable. It will be found in the difficult, unglamorous, and absolutely necessary work of addressing the deeper inequalities and structural failures that give rise to public frustration in the first place. That work cannot wait, and it cannot be avoided. The people living at the sharp edge of these tensions, both citizens and immigrants alike, deserve nothing less.

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