A Lagos High court has acquitted one Chekube Odunze who was alleged to have raped a two-year-old girl.
Presiding over the case, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on Wednesday, scolded men of the Nigerian Police for lack of diligence and poor investigation of the case of the rape case.
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While acquitting the defendant, the judge told the police to be more effective and meticulous in their investigations, adding that they must always ensure that relevant pieces of evidence for the prosecution of criminal cases were not compromised.
The Judge said:
“The police need to move into the 21st century and present forensic evidence and not stick to archaic methods of investigation.
“The police did not produce any blood and semen-stained underwear belonging to the toddler; the testimony of the medical doctor only established redness in the genitals and no signs of physical injury.
“The starting point is the testimony of the medical doctor; she was not in a position to say whether the redness was caused by the penetration of a penis, fingering or the insertion of a foreign object in the vagina.
“It was almost impossible to establish the cause of the redness of the private part.
“What also damaged the case is the non-presentation of the blood-stained pants of the toddler by the police to the medical examiner for forensic examination.
“The underwear was not presented to the court as evidence to even prove that semen was discharged during the act.
“The mother of the toddler did not also come to court to testify against the defendant.
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