COZA R*pe Scandal: Busola Counters Fatoyinbo’s Preliminary Objection

According to Premium Times, Nigerian celebrity photographer, Busola Dakolo, has filed a countersuit challenging Biodun Fatoyinbo’s preliminary objection which stated that her court action is not statute-barred.

Mrs Dakolo had on September 6 commenced a civil action on intentional infliction of emotional distress against Mr Fatoyinbo, a pastor of the Common Wealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) over an allegation of r*pe.

In response, Mr Fatoyinbo, last week, through his lawyer, Alex Izinyon, filed a preliminary objection and denied ever raping Mrs Dakolo or any other woman.

He also asked the court to dismiss Mrs Dakolo’s suit for, among others, being statute-barred. His church has also accused envious pastors of being behind his ordeal.

In the latest suit, which was filed on Friday, Mrs Dakolo also said that Mr Fatoyinbo’s argument that her suit is out of time is misconceived and an attempt to hoodwink the court from the main issue and evade justice.

In her written argument in the court process, which were seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Dakolo argued that her cause of action is predicated on a continuing injury which is of a nature that is suffered from time to time.

She also urged the court to discountenance Mr Fatoyinbo’s preliminary objection and asked that the cleric submit himself to court for the purpose of justice.

The mother of three prayed further that the court should not allow the defendant to run away from justice by hiding under the statute of limitation, and that emotional distress is a tort that cannot be quantified by time.
 

Mrs Dakolo’s case

Mr Fatoyinbo, who had been enmeshed in other sexual scandals before the recent allegations, runs the Abuja headquarters of his church with his wife, Modele.

In an interview published by YNaija in June, Mrs Dakolo alleged she was assaulted twice within a space of one week by Mr Dakolo while she worshipped as a member of his church.

Mrs Dakolo alleged that the pastor raped her for the first time at her parents’ home and at another time in a secluded road path. She said the incidents occurred before she turned 18 and added that she lost her virginity to him.

In the current application, Mrs Dakolo said the incident caused her untold emotional stress.

She listed another influential Nigerian pastor, Matthew Ashimolowo, as one of her witnesses.

In a new development, Mr Fatoyinbo’s ‘ex-spiritual mentors’ Busola Olotu and Emmanuel Oset (a reverend), broke their silence nearly three months after the rape allegations against the controversial cleric went viral.

They indicted the embattled cleric in a recent interview with Adesuwa Onyenokwe and said Mr Fatoyinbo committed similar crimes in the past.

Mrs Olotu, a pastor, said she found out about the alleged rape incident for the first time in 2011.

She said Mrs Dakolo’s elder sister, Funmi Ayeni, told her about the incident.

The interviews were conducted in Ilorin, Kwara State, where Mr Fatoyinbo began his ministry.

Mrs Olotu said that from her interaction with Mrs Fatoyinbo and the fact that three other women had made similar allegations against him, she knew that the allegations were true.

Also, in the interview, Mr Oset confirmed that after Mr Fatoyinbo started his church, he reached out to him to pray for him and he became the controversial cleric’s spiritual father.

He, however, said he had to end their relationship after allegations of adultery were levelled against him (Fatoyinbo) in 2013 by a writer, Ese Walters.