TheCable

Uwom Okereke Eze, a medical doctor, has testified before a court in the alleged rape case involving Femi Olaleye, managing director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation.

Eze appeared before the Lagos special offences and domestic violence court on Wednesday to present a review of the medical examination conducted on the survivor.

The health practitioner is a clinical forensic physician with the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo state capital.

Eze is the first witness presented to the court by the defense team.

BACKGROUND

Olaleye, a doctor, is standing trial on a two-count charge of defilement of a child and sexual assault by penetration.

He was accused of sexually violating his wife’s niece for over 20 months.

On January 4,  Oyebimpe Akinbunmi, a health practitioner, appeared before the court to present the findings of her medical examination of the survivor.

Akinbunmi told the court that she works with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, and the Mirabel Centre.

The health practitioner said the survivor was presented at the Mirabel Centre on March 15, 2022, for a medical examination over the alleged rape incident.

She added that the findings showed that there was “repeated forceful penetrative” injury on the vagina of the survivor.

“There was a notch at the 9 ‘O’clock position on the hymen and transection at one ‘O’clock position at the hymen. Transection means a deep cut,” Akinbunmi had told the court in January.

“The vagina wall was also unduly visible, revealing more than one-third of the lower vagina.

“The pattern of injury that I saw was consistent with repeated forceful penetrative injury into the vagina. It is an indication of ongoing forceful blunt penetration of the vagina.

The medical report of the examination of the survivor was submitted to the court as an exhibit.

‘NO EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL CONTACT’

During Wednesday’s hearing, Eze conducted a review of the medical report of the survivor earlier presented to the court by Akinbunmi.

The health practitioner told the court that the medical examination conducted on the survivor by Akinbunmi did not meet the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the examination of persons sexually assaulted.

Eze added that the survivor’s vagina features stated in the report were not that of injuries but “normal features” of a vagina.

He added that the medical report presented to the court was “predicated” on vaginal features and testimony of the survivor.

“This (referring to the report) doesn’t follow the standard. There is no evidence whatsoever. The features in the vagina were not that of injuries but normal features,” the health practitioner told the court.

“The document was predicated on the vagina features and account of the survivor. It does not provide evidence of sexual contact.

“It is not the standard to predicate your test on only vagina features and survivor’s testimony.”

‘NO SWAB, BLOOD, FORENSIC TOXICOLOGY TESTS CONDUCTED’

Speaking further, Eze said the survivor was not subjected to a vaginal swab test during the medical examination to determine the presence of seminal fluid.

The medical doctor added that the survivor was not subjected to the forensic toxicology test to determine the drugs allegedly taken after the alleged sexual assault.

“There is no documentation of any swab. It is a must requirement of any sexual assault test,” he added.

“Swab from the vagina was not taken to help determine the presence of seminal fluid. No swab from the mouth was taken.

“None of these were carried out, and no documentation on DNA test or the reason why it was not carried out.

“If the alleged pills were given to her in all the alleged four rounds of sexual escapade, a forensic toxicology test on the blood should have been conducted to determine the alleged pills taken.

“No physical, forensic, biomedical was not documented during the medical examination.”

The doctor also told the court that no HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B/C tests were conducted on the survivor during the medical examination.

“HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B/C tests were not conducted to determine any form of sexual infection,” he said.

“There was no physical evidence of blunt force trauma of the vagina. The report shows that there was no sign of bruises, injuries, and lacerations on the vagina of the survivor.”

CROSS-EXAMINATION BY PROSECUTION

During cross-examination, Babajide Boye, the state counsel, asked the medical doctor what excuse he gave his employer for appearing in court today.

“I work for the UCH. I’m also a public servant. As a consultant, I’m entitled to one or two days of private practice. I was engaged to do a medical review of the medical report,” he said.

Boye asked the doctor what was his mode of transportation from Ibadan to Lagos.

“I came by public transport from Ibadan. I lodged in a hotel. This morning, one of the lawyers came to pick me up from the hotel,” he said.

Asked if he knows the survivor, the medical doctor said he has not met the survivor before or knows the competence of the health practitioner from Mirabel centre.

After further cross-examination by the state counsel, Rahman Oshodi, the matter was adjourned till April 26 to hear more testimonies from witnesses.