A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt has acquitted and discharged Professor David Ogbonna of Rivers State University who was standing trial for alleged unlawful and indecent assault on a female student by inserting his penis in her vagina in his office in the university campus.
Recall that State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Port Harcourt had on June 28,2022 arraigned Professor David Ogbonna of Rivers State University on one count charge of unlawful and indecent assault against a twenty-one year female student of the institution.
Delivering judgment in the case, Chief Magistrate Poromon Menenen said the prosecution team failed to prove their case against the lecturer.
Menenen in his judgement stated that the phone the female student claimed she used in recording Professor Ogbonna’s discussion with her on the day of the alleged incident was never tendered as exhibit during the cause of the trial.
The Magistrate also stated that the disc the female student claimed she transferred the recording to, was not also tendered in the course of the trial.
The Magistrate stated that the underwear the female student claimed had a semen stain after she was allegedly unlawfully assaulted was not subjected to a forensic examination of any kind and the prosecution team failed to call the health worker who conducted medical examination on the female student for testimony.
The court said the prosecution team also failed to provide the victim to testify who the female student claimed left her and the Professor in the lecturer’s office after both of them came to his office.
Chief Magistrate Menenen maintained that there is no substantial evidence to prove the case of unlawful and indecent assault against Professor David Ogbonna and subsequently discharged and acquitted him.
After the ruling, G.U. Amana the State Prosecuting Counsel in the matter representing Rivers State Ministry of Justice declined to speak to Journalists on the judgement.
However, one of the defence counsel for Professor David Ogbonna, Emma Okah Esq in an interview with Journalists said the defense team knew the case would go the way it went because there was no evidence from day one.
Okah asserted that Professor Ogbonna has been innocent from the beginning and will continue to be innocent.
