An elderly man, Idowu Fashola, has recounted his ordeal after spending eight years in custody over an allegation of child molestation.
Pa Fashola, 70, was accused of r@ping a young girl who had lived with his family from the age of three.
Speaking after his release, he explained that the girl was brought to his home by his wife for care and training and remained with them until she reached secondary school age before returning to her parents.
In tears, he narrated how the family later arrived with the police and accused him of r@pe, leading to a prolonged court case and his detention.
He was recently found not guilty and discharged after the court determined he had no case to answer.
A nonprofit organisation focused on ensuring access to justice for all, the Foundation for Public Interest Law and Development (FPILD) secured the discharge and acquittal of Pa Idowu Fashola, 70, after an eight-year legal battle over an allegation of defilement of a minor.
Pa Fashola was discharged and acquitted on December 1, 2025, by Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, following the dismissal of a one-count charge of defilement filed against him.
The prosecution had alleged that in 2017, Pa Fashola engaged in s£xual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl, Elizabeth Babatunde, described as the granddaughter of his wife’s elder sister.
Following his arraignment, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He was initially arraigned on February 6, 2020, before Honourable Justice S.O. Nwaka, who is now a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
The matter was later reassigned, and Pa Fashola was re-arraigned on November 17, 2021, before Justice Oshodi, where he again entered a plea of not guilty.
During the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses.
According to the prosecution’s case, a neighbour allegedly observed inappropriate conduct involving the prosecutrix (alleged victim) and her father, which prompted a report to the Community for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR). Investigations subsequently led to the arraignment of Pa Fashola.
In his defense, Pa Fashola, who hails from Lagelu Local Government Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, denied the allegation, stating in his testimony that he was merely informed that he had been accused of having s£xual intercourse with the prosecutrix.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that the prosecution failed to provide credible and admissible evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had s£xual intercourse with the prosecutrix in 2017.
The Court observed that the failure of the prosecutrix to give first-hand testimony on the alleged incident was fatal to the prosecution’s case.
Justice Oshodi noted that the prosecutrix neither testified nor identified her alleged assailant with certainty, adding that her absence created a fundamental gap in the evidence, which could not be cured by the testimony of witnesses who did not personally witness the alleged act. The judge consequently discharged and acquitted the defendant.
Watch the interview Pa Fashola granted after his release below.
