A 47-year-old Nigerian man, Morenikeji Adewale, is currently standing trial at Southwark Crown Court in London over allegations that he raped a 19-year-old woman in his car near the popular Heaven nightclub in November.
According to court proceedings, Adewale was in the United Kingdom on a five-year tourist visa, which permitted visits of no more than six months at a time and did not allow him to take up employment. However, prosecutors claim he illegally secured a job as a nightclub security guard in central London by using a false identity under the name Olusola Julius Alabi.
His real identity was discovered after his arrest, when fingerprint evidence linked him to the alias. Adewale has since pleaded guilty to two charges related to the possession of identification documents with improper intent.
When questioned about the use of a false name, Adewale reportedly told police that he panicked during the inquiry, adding that, “That’s the name people call me at my work.”
The alleged victim, a 19-year-old Christian woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, was said to be heavily intoxicated on the night of the incident. The court was reminded that consent is not valid if a person is too intoxicated to make informed decisions. The woman, who had reportedly committed to abstinence until marriage, was observed stumbling and visibly drunk outside the nightclub.
Adewale, however, maintained that he had met the woman months earlier at the same venue and that she approached him on the night of the alleged assault. He claimed she called him “handsome,” kissed him, and asked for water. According to his testimony, she greeted him with, “Hello, Uncle, how are you?” before he offered her water from his car, saying he could not return into the club.
He said he then drove to a more secluded location, where a sexual encounter took place. Adewale admitted to engaging in sexual activity but denied penetration, stating that he stopped once the woman disclosed her age, telling the court, “I can’t date someone below 25.”
The trial is still ongoing, and the court is expected to deliver a verdict in the coming days.
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