The Children, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Court in Awka has discharged and acquitted a 20-year-old student of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, Michael Arinze, who was standing trial for alleged multiple rapes and armed robbery in Awka, Anambra State.
Arinze, a 200-level student, was arraigned in July 2022 and faced eight counts of rape and armed robbery charges. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which alleged that he raped three young women aged 21 and 22 in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, and robbed them of their mobile phones and money at gunpoint.
The offenses were said to have occurred on April 5, July 8, and July 15, 2022, respectively, and were initially reported to contravene Section 5 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law of Anambra State 2017 and Section 347 of the Criminal Code Cap 36 Vol. II Revise Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria 1991, as amended.
After a lengthy trial and 21 months in custody, Justice Peace Otti of the Children, Sexual and Gender-based Violence Court delivered the verdict, dismissing the case against Arinze due to inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence.
In her ruling, Justice Otti stated that the evidence presented by the witnesses called by the prosecution was inconsistent and contradicted the defendant’s confessional statement. Furthermore, she highlighted the lack of independent witnesses to corroborate the prosecution’s story and the absence of medical reports or testimony from medical doctors to support the alleged rapes.
“The Court in criminal cases does not dwell on speculations, but on credible, vital, and relevant evidence,” Justice Otti emphasized. “The guilt of the defendant was not proved beyond reasonable doubt. I find the defendant not guilty, and the defendant is hereby discharged and acquitted.”
