Court Strikes Out Alleged Rape Case Against Covenant University Lecturer
The High Court of Justice in Ilaro, Ogun State, has dismissed the three-count charge of sexual intercourse, sexual exploitation, and rape against Dr. Stephen Ukenna, a former lecturer at Covenant University. The allegations were made by a 17-year-old female student, claiming the incidents occurred on March 11, 2021.
Chris Oyeoku Okafor 
The High Court of Justice, Ota Judicial Division, has struck out the three-count charge of sexual intercourse, sexual exploitation, and rape against Dr. Stephen Ukenna, a former lecturer in the Department of Business Administration at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State. The ruling was made on June 5, 2024, in Charge No. HCT/78c/2021—The State vs. Stephen Ukenna.
The charges stemmed from allegations made by a 17-year-old female student from the Department of Human Resources at the same institution, claiming that Ukenna had committed the acts on or around March 11, 2021. Following the allegations, Dr. Ukenna was charged and the case has been pending in court for over three years.
Throughout this lengthy process, the prosecution faced challenges in producing witnesses to substantiate the claims. The case was initially overseen by Honourable Justice N. O. Durojaiye, who was later transferred to another judicial division, before being taken over by Honourable Justice A. A. Shobayo.
On the day of the ruling, O. A. Osunsami, the State Counsel, informed the court that she had been directed by the Director of Public Prosecution to withdraw the charges due to the inability to secure witnesses after numerous efforts.
As a result, the High Court, presided over by Honourable Justice A. A. Shobayo, struck out the case, leading to Dr. Ukenna being discharged from all allegations against him.
