THE case of the alleged rape of a former corps member by an Osun monarch is taking a sickening dimension. The latest being the revelation by the victim on how the traditional ruler forcefully had carnal knowledge of her despite her cries. The detail is too horrid to capture. The high point of the proceeding was however when the counsel to the Oba, one Mr. Taofeek Tewogbade, threw caution to the wind and shamelessly asked the judge to permit him examine the injury sustained in the course of her struggle with the king. In other words, the tipsy lawyer wanted her to strip naked in the full glare of the court audience. Expectedly, the sanctity of the court was violated and the gravity of the offence at hand momentarily paled as the court erupted in uproarious laughter. But two people were not laughing. The girl, who was in tears at such humiliation of her womanhood; and the counsel to the prosecution, who swiftly countered the immoral request with commendable fury. The judge understandably rejected the obscene prayer of Tewogbade. The truth however is that such a cruel demand by a supposed learned legal practitioner who has a wife and children not only evinces a deliberate ploy to insult the intelligence of the court and frustrate the prosecution, it is also a slight on womanhood. It is a mockery of the ex-corps member’s courage to stand up to be counted for her right.
The ordeal of the ex-corps member Miss Helen Okpara, a 23-year old Abia State indigene, started when she was in the course of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Osun State early last year. She was teaching in a secondary school. The traditional ruler of the town, Oba Adebukola Alli, the Alowa of Ilowa in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State sought her assistance in giving computer training to some of the villagers which Helen agreed to do in the spirit of offering community development service, a prerequisite of the NYSC scheme. The immoral king tricked her into following him into his house where he allegedly raped her. The girl was said to have sustained some bruises in the process of his forceful penetration. But Helen did not lick her wound in silence. She cried out and the NYSC responded and took up the case. Since the legal battle started last year, it has been a show of intrigues and gimmicks with the obvious intent of rubbishing the case.
In the earlier stage of the case, the community had raised a mammoth delegation led by its council of kingmakers to solicit the support of the state government. They were particularly apprehensive of a possible political undertone in the trial of their beloved king. They dismissed the rumour of dethronement and begged the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration to throw in its weight behind them. When probably they could not get their wish, they pushed further. The Oba was said to be critically ill and needed urgent medical attention in the comfort of his palace. He was granted bail under the Justice Jide Falola’s ruling despite his counsel’s failure to produce a medical report to substantiate the claim.
Now that his royal highness is well enough to hunt some other girls, the table has been turned around and this dare-devil stranger has to be checked for attempting to spoil the good name of their king. It’s over a year since the evil deed was done and justice is being tampered with by sleight. She is being subjected to more emotional and psychological pain. Helen was said to have broken down in tears in court when the wicked request was made by Tewogbade. And this was after an earlier test had been conducted and tendered in court by a medical doctor. This was obviously calculated at festering her wound, disgracing her parents and by extension the entire family of the NYSC to which this writer belongs. That cannot be funny to any sane and cultured mind.
First, the hearing of this case has to be accelerated because of the afflicted girl. She had completed her youth service since July last year but the spectre of Ilowa still hunts her. The case has been adjourned to May 2, a long two months away. She cannot settle down in her home state because she has to show up anytime the case comes up for mention to bear the insults and cruel questions of some paid lawyers without conscience. Aside the danger of our bad roads, her presence in the court will stir up hostility among the people of the community together with probable threats and coersion. Also by now, some of her colleagues may have been working and probably married, but she cannot. Her names are everywhere in the papers and that not for a good reason.
She also needs the protection of the court. The judiciary will need to erect stiffer restrictions on how lawyers take the court for granted and make unwholesome requests targeted at insulting the intelligence of witnesses especially in sensitive cases like this. Section 228 of the Evidence Act which forbids provocative and insulting questioning of witnesses may be amended to compel heavy sanctions on such mindless contempt of court. When people get mock treatments like this despite a substantive medical report, many other victims of rape will prefer to keep quiet instead of aggravating their problems with undesirable publicity and ridicule.
The touching side of the story is the rather sad way the people of Ilowa have been desecrating the cultural values and ethos of the Yoruba nation by celebrating the atrocious conduct of their king. Gone are the days when such kings would not have only been deposed but also asked to open the charmed calabash as a sign of denouncement or commit suicide as punishment. A stranger came to your land to help your people, and instead of protecting her from her fears, you pounced on her and became the sly guard who was also the thieving demon. And all that the people of Ilowa could see in this tragedy of a king was political persecution, what a pity for their unborn generations.
The NYSC will do well to blacklist this community from its beneficiaries of corps members. Their shameful solidarity for the bad behaviour of their randy king shows the community is not safe for corps members. One is tempted to believe the people of Ilowa still think we live in the age when traditional rulers are presumed to be next to God and are seen as unquestionable and answerable to nobody. They are Kabiyesi with absolute authority who can claim anything that catches their fancy either by bargain or by brute. They must wake up from this illusion before being by-passed by the goodness of a modern society.
Finally, this case must not be aborted or frustrated by any out-of-court settlement. All corps members and indeed Nigerians are interested in it. The Brig-Gen Okorie-Affia led team must monitor all the processes as the case of Anthonia Okechukwu Okeke, another female corps member who three years after she was kidnapped has not been found is still pending. That case became messed up when the principal suspect after a short interrogation was let off the hook on a flimsy and faulty ground. The agonies of her traumatized parents have continued to echo in various media. The NYSC has a lot to do to prove it is capable of protecting the interest of corps members from all fronts.
•Samson is of the NYSC, Ebonyi State
The ordeal of the ex-corps member Miss Helen Okpara, a 23-year old Abia State indigene, started when she was in the course of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Osun State early last year. She was teaching in a secondary school. The traditional ruler of the town, Oba Adebukola Alli, the Alowa of Ilowa in Obokun Local Government Area of Osun State sought her assistance in giving computer training to some of the villagers which Helen agreed to do in the spirit of offering community development service, a prerequisite of the NYSC scheme. The immoral king tricked her into following him into his house where he allegedly raped her. The girl was said to have sustained some bruises in the process of his forceful penetration. But Helen did not lick her wound in silence. She cried out and the NYSC responded and took up the case. Since the legal battle started last year, it has been a show of intrigues and gimmicks with the obvious intent of rubbishing the case.
In the earlier stage of the case, the community had raised a mammoth delegation led by its council of kingmakers to solicit the support of the state government. They were particularly apprehensive of a possible political undertone in the trial of their beloved king. They dismissed the rumour of dethronement and begged the Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration to throw in its weight behind them. When probably they could not get their wish, they pushed further. The Oba was said to be critically ill and needed urgent medical attention in the comfort of his palace. He was granted bail under the Justice Jide Falola’s ruling despite his counsel’s failure to produce a medical report to substantiate the claim.
Now that his royal highness is well enough to hunt some other girls, the table has been turned around and this dare-devil stranger has to be checked for attempting to spoil the good name of their king. It’s over a year since the evil deed was done and justice is being tampered with by sleight. She is being subjected to more emotional and psychological pain. Helen was said to have broken down in tears in court when the wicked request was made by Tewogbade. And this was after an earlier test had been conducted and tendered in court by a medical doctor. This was obviously calculated at festering her wound, disgracing her parents and by extension the entire family of the NYSC to which this writer belongs. That cannot be funny to any sane and cultured mind.
First, the hearing of this case has to be accelerated because of the afflicted girl. She had completed her youth service since July last year but the spectre of Ilowa still hunts her. The case has been adjourned to May 2, a long two months away. She cannot settle down in her home state because she has to show up anytime the case comes up for mention to bear the insults and cruel questions of some paid lawyers without conscience. Aside the danger of our bad roads, her presence in the court will stir up hostility among the people of the community together with probable threats and coersion. Also by now, some of her colleagues may have been working and probably married, but she cannot. Her names are everywhere in the papers and that not for a good reason.
She also needs the protection of the court. The judiciary will need to erect stiffer restrictions on how lawyers take the court for granted and make unwholesome requests targeted at insulting the intelligence of witnesses especially in sensitive cases like this. Section 228 of the Evidence Act which forbids provocative and insulting questioning of witnesses may be amended to compel heavy sanctions on such mindless contempt of court. When people get mock treatments like this despite a substantive medical report, many other victims of rape will prefer to keep quiet instead of aggravating their problems with undesirable publicity and ridicule.
The touching side of the story is the rather sad way the people of Ilowa have been desecrating the cultural values and ethos of the Yoruba nation by celebrating the atrocious conduct of their king. Gone are the days when such kings would not have only been deposed but also asked to open the charmed calabash as a sign of denouncement or commit suicide as punishment. A stranger came to your land to help your people, and instead of protecting her from her fears, you pounced on her and became the sly guard who was also the thieving demon. And all that the people of Ilowa could see in this tragedy of a king was political persecution, what a pity for their unborn generations.
The NYSC will do well to blacklist this community from its beneficiaries of corps members. Their shameful solidarity for the bad behaviour of their randy king shows the community is not safe for corps members. One is tempted to believe the people of Ilowa still think we live in the age when traditional rulers are presumed to be next to God and are seen as unquestionable and answerable to nobody. They are Kabiyesi with absolute authority who can claim anything that catches their fancy either by bargain or by brute. They must wake up from this illusion before being by-passed by the goodness of a modern society.
Finally, this case must not be aborted or frustrated by any out-of-court settlement. All corps members and indeed Nigerians are interested in it. The Brig-Gen Okorie-Affia led team must monitor all the processes as the case of Anthonia Okechukwu Okeke, another female corps member who three years after she was kidnapped has not been found is still pending. That case became messed up when the principal suspect after a short interrogation was let off the hook on a flimsy and faulty ground. The agonies of her traumatized parents have continued to echo in various media. The NYSC has a lot to do to prove it is capable of protecting the interest of corps members from all fronts.
•Samson is of the NYSC, Ebonyi State
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