Photographer and wife of popular musician, Busola Dakolo, has been fined a million naira after a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Bwari on Thursday dismissed her suit against the Senior Pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo.
The fine was imposed by the court having believed the plaintiff wasted its time.
Busola, Timi Dakolo’s wife, in September, filed the suit accusing Fatoyinbo of rape. She said the action of the pastor and his denial in a statement adversely affected her marital sex life.
She therefore demanded a personal letter of apology from the cleric to show honest remorse
In her suit, filed on her behalf by Pelumi Olajengbesi and Co of Law corridor, Mrs Dakolo asked the court to declare that Fatoyinbo’s denial of his alleged acts contained jointly and/or severally through a press statement he released on June 28, 2019, had caused her continuous emotional distress and amounted to intentional infliction of emotional distress on her.
“The claimant avers that she was immediately terrified and in shock while the defendant pinned her down on the couch following which he caressed her body, fondled her breasts, pulled her pants, quickly half-pulled his trousers and ordered her to allow him to have his way with her.
“The claimant avers that the defendant in the process used his hand to cover her mouth, thereby muffling her screams. The claimant avers that the defendant made efforts to penetrate her vagina, whilst she struggled to fight him off; however, the defendant overpowered her and penetrated her vagina and had sexual intercourse with her.
“The claimant avers that while she was in shock of the incident which had rendered her befuddled and mortified, the defendant rushed out of the living room area of her family home and briefly returned with a bottle of soda (Krest) which he forced down her throat thereby making her breathing difficult,” the suit stated.
However, Fatoyinbo’s lawyer, Alex Iziyon (SAN), told the court that the suit is frivolous.
In his ruling, Justice Oathman Musa said the matter amounts to injustice and an abuse of judicial process because the case is empty and purely sentimental, adding that it was aimed more at cruelty than obtaining justice.
He also awarded N1m against Busola Dakolo, stating that the fine should have been 10 times more because the court’s time was waste.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Police has said it’s still investigating the allegation brought against Fatoyinbo, adding that the conclusion is slow because the alleged incident happened 20 years ago.