Alleged rape: Submit yourself to court for justice sake, Dakolo tells Fatoyinbo

Busola Dakolo, wife of Nigeria’s inspirational singer Timi Dakolo, has urged the FCT High Court in Abuja to discountenance Preliminary Objection filed against her case by Biodun Fatoyinbo, Founder and Senior Pastor, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA).

Mrs Dakolo made the plea while responding to the preliminary objection by Mr Fatoyinbo insisting that she sued the pastor because of the continuous emotional injuries she had suffered as a result of the rape he committed.

She therefore asked that he (Fatoyinbo) should submit himself to court to ensure justice.

Mrs Dakolo took Mr Fatoyinbo to an FCT High Court for allegedly raping her on different occasions when she was a teenager about 20 years ago.

Mrs Dakolo, in her suit, claimed that the incident had continued to hunt and traumatize her and as such required justice to be discharged through the law court.

The court in a writ of summons dated September 6 had ordered the pastor to appear before it within 14 days of the service or judgment may be given in his absence.

However, the pastor through his lawyer, Alex Izinyon, SAN, tried to discharge the suite by filing a preliminary objection dated September 20, saying that the case was filed out of time and the court can no longer hear the matter again.

Responding to Mr Fatoyinbo’s preliminary objection, Mrs Dakolo, through her Lawyer, Pelumi Olajengbesi, argued that the action was not statute-barred (filed out of time) and that it is predicated on continuous injury which is an exception to the Statute of Limitation.

She noted that the argument that her suit was filed out of time was misconceived and an attempt to hoodwink the court from the main issue and evade justice.

“My cause of action is predicated on a continuing injury which I have continued to suffer over a long period of time,” she said.

Mrs Dakolo urged the court to discountenance Mr Fatoyinbo’s Preliminary Objection to the case and asked that he submit himself to court to ensure justice.

She prayed the court not to allow the defendant run away from justice by hiding under the cloak of statute of limitation, noting that emotional distress is a tort that cannot be quantified by time.