The traditional ruler of Ilowa in Obokun Local Government Area of
Osun state, Oba Adebukola Alli, who is on trial before a High Court in
Osogbo for alleged rape of a former Youth Corps member, Miss Helen
Okpara, will know his fate on June 4 as the court delivers judgment in
the case.
During the nearly two years trial, the health of the monarch, who had
been remanded in prison custody, deteriorated and on two occasions, he
travelled abroad for medical treatment.
The embattled traditional ruler of an Ijesha-speaking community, in
the eastern part of the state had on one occasion, slumped inside the
court during proceedings.
Despite the weighty allegation leveled against the monarch, his
subjects still admire him and have vowed to ensure that he continues to
rule the town.
A 23-year-old former member of the National Youth Service Corps
(NYSC) who served in his domain, Helen Okpara, had alleged that the Oba
had unlawful carnal knowledge of her. Although the monarch denied the
allegation, Okpara in her evidence, gave a blow-by-blow account of how
she was allegedly raped inside the private residence of the traditional
ruler in Osogbo.
Her words: “The monarch came over me and I panicked and ran into a
toilet where he struggled with my clothes and pulled it off. He
collected my clothes and said he would soak them in water. He came
inside the room, switched off the light, and struggled with me on the
bed; and that was how he raped me. I kept shouting but the Oba told me
that nobody would hear me. And after, I noticed that something was
dropping from my private part.”
Narrating her ordeal in the hands of the royal father in one of the
court sittings, Okpara said: “I was engaged by the monarch to distribute
forms for a computer training he organized. After distributing the
training form to the participants, I told the Oba that we were through
for the day and he said I should wait, that he was going to drop me off
on the way to my house. So, I waited for him and he drove me in his car
but when we got to the front of my house, he said I would have to follow
him to Osogbo for registration of the forms, because the state
government was expecting the forms.”
She stated further: “I told the monarch that it was late and that I
couldn’t make it to Osogbo but he promised to bring me back to the
village no matter how late. When we got to his house in Osogbo, he
didn’t mention anything about the registration of the forms, so I told
him I wanted to leave but he said it was already late and that he
couldn’t risk driving at night.
“I told the Oba to drop me in front of a police station, that I would
find my way home, but he refused. Instead, he went inside a room and
came out with a bundle of N200 notes and threw it at me, saying that I
should collect it, because he was impressed with my performance at the
computer-training centre. But I told him I didn’t need his money.”
According to Okpara, Oba Alli went in with the money and when he
returned, he had undressed, adding: “When I told him I was leaving, he
said I wasn’t going back that night and that he had tried many ways to
get at me but I always turned down his advances. He threatened to harm
me that night.”
However, the monarch in his defense, told the court that he had
sexual intercourse with Okpara on several occasions before the one that
landed him in trouble.
He said: “Helen is my girl friend and both of us have been enjoying
ourselves without any problem. I don’t know why she decided to turn
things against me.”
At the last hearing of the case, E.A Gbadegesin, counsel to the
monarch, said that he had filed a written address on the matter which
had been confirmed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the
state Ministry of Justice. Gbadegesin urged the court to discharge the
accused monarch and dismiss the claims of the prosecution.
But leading other counsels from the state Ministry of Justice, the
Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Dapo Adeniji, said he had
proof that the monarch committed the offence and urged the court to
expedite action on the judgment.
Consequently, the trial Judge, Mr Justice Oyejide Falola, fixed Tuesday, June 4, for judgment.
---The Sun
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