A High Court in Bwari, Abuja on Thursday dismissed the case filed by Busola Dakolo against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA).
The court also awarded costs of N1,000,000 against Dakolo and held that the fine should have been 10 times more because the court’s time was wasted.
Justice Oathman A. Musa, in giving the judgment, held that the matter amounts to injustice and an abuse of judicial process adding that the case is empty and purely sentimental. Justice Musa said that the case was aimed more at cruelty than obtaining justice.
The popular celebrity photographer Busola Dakolo at the centre of the rape saga has however vowed to appeal the ruling of Justice O. A. Musa of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja dismissing her rape allegation against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA).
Her lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, declared this in a statement immediately after the ruling..
“The court ruled that the matter is statute-barred because the events that crystallised to the cause of action took place 16 years ago and that the claimant Mrs. Busola Dakolo has only six years within which to seek redress in court in line with the statute of limitation. “We are mindful of the decision as delivered by the court, presided over by the Hon. Justice A.O Musa.
“We are equally observant of the fact that the Court omitted to address the cause of action, the subject matter of the suit in determining whether it has jurisdiction to entertain the said matter.“While we acknowledge the time of the court, we know in accordance with the Nigerian judicial system that the Court’s decision is not final as it is glaringly contestable.
“For all intent and purposes, having seen several sponsored misleading news reports in the media, we are duty-bound to state that the court has not and did not exonerate Biodun Fatoyinbo. As it stands, the substance of the matter has not received any judicial attention.
“Biodun Fatoyinbo through his lawyers has only argued that the court should not allow the matter to proceed to trial because it is an event that occurred long ago and hence out of time.We shall therefore in this circumstance approach a superior court to intervene for a better appreciation, and take a more expansive view of the suit considering that the subject matter is one that is novel in our clime.”