Judge urges Lagos to establish victim protection agency
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Judge Rahman Oshodi has called on the Lagos State government to establish the agency tasked with assisting and protecting victims and witnesses, provided for by a law passed in 2024. He made the call in a ruling acquitting a 54-year-old man accused of raping his daughter, according to Punch.
Judge Rahman Oshodi, a magistrate of the Lagos State High Court, has called on the Lagos government to immediately establish the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Agency, provided for by the 2024 Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Act. He said the absence of the agency left child victims of sexual abuse, among others, without sufficient protection, according to Punch.
The law provides assistance, support and compensation for victims, as well as protection for witnesses against intimidation, reprisals and other forms of harm. Judge Oshodi made the call in his ruling acquitting Taiwo Oyelabi, 54, who was prosecuted for the alleged rape of his biological daughter, 21.
In the case State of Lagos v. Adio Serious, registered under number ID/8787C/2019, the judge found that the prosecution had established that the accused had had sexual intercourse with his daughter, but had not demonstrated that it took place without her consent. He notably pointed out that the young woman, presented as the only person able to testify directly about her consent, had not been called to the witness stand, according to Punch.
