NIKI TOBI, JCA (Delivering the Leading Judgment): The appellant is a Legal Practitioner. He has his practice at No. 96, Lagos Street, Ebute Metta, Lagos. P.W.8 is the complainant. She is Alhaja Taibat Adeniji. She lives at No. 50 Community Road, Akoka, Lagos. She is a business woman having a number of companies. Losada Nigeria Ltd. is one. The charge wrongly referred to her as Alhaji Taibat Adeniji. I would like to think that there is a difference between the two, and it is a 'gender' difference. While Alhaja refers to a female Muslim, Alhaji refers to a male muslim. The two cannot be used indiscriminately or interchangeably. P.W.8, being a woman is an Alhaja, not an Alhaji. It is unfortunate that the prosecution was that careless, in a serious matter such as this. They amended the charge once but they did not see the mistake. And so it went through their entire case.
Although the mistake is of no significance in this appeal as it is not raised by the appellant, it clearly underscores …