In the days of yore, the Oba in the ancient Yoruba kingdom could do no wrong. He was next to Olodumare – God whose activities could not be questioned by mere mortals. They all had polygamist tendencies and so could get any maiden or damsel they desired by merely pointing at the ‘victim’ who doubled as their object of desire.

Oba Adebukola Alli, the Alowa of Ilowa-Ijesa in Osun State may have thought he was in the feudal age when he allegedly raped Helen Okpara, a 23 year old corps member posted to serve her fatherland in his royal domain. Rape is a very sensitive issue in Nigeria as it carries a lot of stigmatisation. Sadly, it is only the woman that bears the brunt of victimization. She is the one who is always accused of wearing seductive dresses to tempt the male folk. She is the one mercilessly harassed by the police if she dares report any case to them. Most times, female rape victims prefer to suffer in silence as the trauma they pass through while trying to get justice adds to the pain which they have already suffered.

The Oba was alleged to have raped her in his Rasco Housing Estate Residence on 25 March 2011. Before the alleged act, she was said to have petitioned the National Youth Service Corps Authorities who were her employers at the time and her pastor who promptly alerted the Police. Trust the inefficient men in black who acted after the alleged act had been done in their usual medicine after death attitude.

She did the unthinkable by taking the Oba to court which would have been unheard of in the days before the advent of the colonial masters. The alleged act would have qualified her to be an automatic concubine. The quest for justice was highly commendable but she had the snail speed like judiciary to contend with. Judgement came after about two years after the act. One can imagine the emotional and financial stress incurred during the period. This may account for why many victims prefer to wallow in silence as the judiciary seems to own all the time in the world. Justice delayed is justice denied goes the age long aphorism.

The judgment was a case of stark contradistinction. On the one hand, the Presiding Judge, Justice Falola upbraided the Oba for being a disgrace to himself, family and the kingdom for sleeping with a corps member attached to his domain. He also said that the victim failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt as she could not present evidence of stained bed sheets, torn underpants, medical evidence suggesting a forced penetration and bruises to prove that a rape occurred. He then lampooned the Police for being inept in the handling of the case.

How on earth could she have kept the bed sheets when the act didn’t occur in her house? Would the Oba be so dumb as to let her take it away when it could be implicating in the future? What if there were no torn underpants? The case dragged on for a long time, what if a time lapse occurred after she must have recovered from the trauma and her visit to the hospital which may have invalidated the medical report if it indeed happened!

There should be an ounce of morality. The Oba had an obligation to protect her as she was his guest during the service period which was a national assignment. He had no business exhibiting his libido prowess like an animal. As a Muslim, he could marry four wives as his religion permits so. Why use another man’s daughter with the considerable investment vested on her as a mere sex experiment? Would he have been pleased if any of his princesses were conned to warm the beds of men old enough to be their father?

It was scandalous that some misguided members of his community were openly showing solidarity for the bestial actions of their morally bankrupt Oba by displaying placards demonising Miss Okpara and portraying him as a hero. This reminds one of the shameless act of some Nigerians in the United Kingdom who were shamelessly showing solidarity for James Ibori when he was jailed for 13 years by a London Court. It was bad enough that our courts couldn’t put him behind bars for pilfering over $250 million of public funds. It was worse when even John Fashanu joined the bandwagon. This was a man who alleged he had evidence to nail the Evil Genius only for him to backtrack on Ibori for obvious reasons of selfish interests.

The NYSC should blacklist Ilowa-Ilesa by not sending corpers there as a way of showing solidarity for the plight of raped girls as the rights of women should be upheld under all circumstances. The Oba should tender an unreserved apology to the women folk for the trauma a lady in his custody was forced to suffer, her crime being that she served her motherland. Women in his community should protest so that Obas or lesser male mortals should treat them with the respect that they justly deserve.

@ademiluyitony  on twitter