John Otema, an alumnus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), standing trial for having canal knowledge of students of the institution has made some disclosure about the allegations.
Otema stated that he couldn’t remember admitted that he truly had a canal knowledge of the students.
He added that although the police compelled him to make some statement which he later denied.
On his part, Fred Onyeka, counsel to Otema, frown against the statement being tendered in evidence at the resumed hearing of the case at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court.
Onyeka said that an addendum of six lines, where his client admitted to having unlawful sexual intercourse with Student Y (name withheld) in his statement did not emanate voluntarily from him.
The defence counsel said that Otema was coerced to write that he voluntarily wrote the contents and was not beaten prior to writing the statement.
“I am objecting on the ground that the last six lines of this statement were made on a different date from the first date which was Feb. 8, 2018.
“Those six lines were of the defendant. It was obtained involuntarily my Lord; he was forced to make those confessions.
“It is a flagrant violation of Section 34(1) (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,”
Mr Akin George, the lead state prosecutor, however, appealed to the court to allow the prosecution to bring in relevant witnesses to prove the voluntariness of the confessional statements.