A 24-year-old woman (name withheld), allegedly drugged at a nightclub and gang-raped in a hotel at Lekki, Lagos, by two dropouts of Babcock University, wants the criminal suit filed against the defendants – Don-Chima and Olusegun, withdrawn.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the complainant made her request for withdrawal of the case during proceedings at an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday, via a “Letter of Withdrawal”.
The letter, dated June 3, 2019, was addressed to the Director of the Directorate of Public Prosecution and signed by the complainant.
In the letter, which was read in court by Justice Abiola Soladoye, the complainant attributed her decision to seek the withdrawal of the case to “intervention of family members” and for the sake of her integrity.
Mr Akin George, a Deputy-Director in the Directorate of Public Prosecution and lead state prosecutor, however, opposed the complainant’s request.
He noted that the complainant was in court for the continuation of her cross-examination by the defence.
“We do not have a directive from the office of the Attorney-General.
“My lord, the Honourable AG is the complainant in this case.
“In every criminal matter, victims are naturally witnesses and as we speak, there is no AG in office due to the change in power.
“We are also aware of the rules 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.
“We will bring the witness to state her position before the court, while we continue proceedings and await directives from the AG’s office,” George said.
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