Lekki Gang Rape: Prosecutor Opposes Out Of Court Settlement

The bid by counsels to the son of a Lagos hotelier, Don-Chima George to settle out of court with a girl he raped has been thwarted by prosecuting counsels of the Lagos State Government.

George, whose father owns Dallankester Hotels and his friend Olusegun Rasak are accused of raping a lady after lacing her drink with substances that made her weak. The two men reportedly raped her repeatedly and recorded the event. The incident happened in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

The prosecution of the two men took a twist on Thursday when the victim presented a letter to withdraw the case from the court.

She gave as her reason, the intervention of family members and to protect her integrity.

The prosecution counsel, however, opposed the request when the letter was presented in court saying:

“We do not have a directive from the office of the attorney-general and my Lord, the attorney-general is the complainant in this case.

“In every criminal matter, the victims are natural witnesses and as we speak, there is no AG in office due to the change in power and we are also aware of the rule of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, which states that even the Court of Appeal cannot stay an ongoing proceeding.

“Our office initiated this action in court and there has to be a closure one way or the other. My Lord, we have submitted issues for the respective decisions of this court and we will bring the witness to state her position before the court, while we continue proceedings and await directives from the AG’s office.”

The defence counsel, Tunji Ayanlaja, however, disagreed on the necessity of the Attorney General being in office to discontinue the case as he averred that the solicitor-general of the state acts in his absence.

“The constitution is so clear that when we do not have an AG in office, the solicitor-general takes over the function of the AG. My Lord, we are ready to proceed.

“The unfortunate thing is that the defendants have been in prison ever since. The complainant, who is the witness, has developed cold feet for one reason or the other; this development is replete in the letter by the complainant and to meet the end of justice, I apply that your lordship should consider releasing the defendants on bail.”

Justice Abiola Soladoye ruled that the case would continue and adjourned further hearing to June 18.

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