Timaya will face at least 8 years in jail

If found guilty of the rape allegations levelled
against him after a trial, Timaya faces at least
8 years in jail. Photo: Instagram
Nigerian singer, Timaya is the subject of a
rape allegation . The accuser, identified as
Shella B , kicked off the saga on Friday, July
24 by dedicating an Instagram account to
‘exposing’ the popular Nigerian act.
Tagged exposingtherealtimaya , Shella accused
the Bayelsa State-born singer of sexually
assaulting her during his time in Atlanta on
July 18, 2015.
In no time, her accusations fuelled several
reports, forcing Timaya to react a few hours
after the matter became a trending topic on
social media. Coming exactly 3 days after
Timaya welcomed his second daughter, the
‘Bow Down’ singer admitted he had sex with
Shella but vehemently disputed the rape
claims through a statement .
The self-styled Egberi Papa 1 of Bayelsa said
he noticed the first sign of trouble when he
turned down Shella’s request that they tag
along to his Atlanta show later that day as a
couple. He added that she demanded $50k
from him when he tried to play it cool with her
days after.
Whatever Timaya was saying at that point
made no sense to Shella, an upcoming act
with a number of singles to her name. Taking
advantage of the spotlight her accusation had
caused, she reintroduced a song she had
released several months earlier.
Shella B is yet to back down over a week after
she first cried out. She announced that a case
is already filed against Timaya with the police
in Atlanta, daring the Dem Mama Records
boss to come to the United States if indeed he
is innocent.
The mother of the singer’s two children,
Barbara has been calm all along since the
saga began, only making a veiled reference to
the matter on Sunday, July 26 by sharing a
photo of her first daughter, Emma with a
caption: ‘Even when the devil tries to steal my
happiness your smiles sunshine makes life
more beautiful…Happy Sunday ya all?’
With an alleged rape case hanging over
Timaya, he faces between 2 and 14 years in
jail if found guilty at the end of a fair trial.
Commenting on the matter, a legal
practitioner, Efe Ugboro, said the process of
filing the case and investigation is almost the
same expect that the US legal system is more
thorough and the law is enforced on stronger
terms.
Citing Sections 357 and 358 of the Nigerian
criminal Code, she said ‘any offence that has
to do with rape, once established, carries a
jail term of between 2 and 14 years.’
Dwelling on the relevant part of the Nigerian
law, she states further: ‘The Section 357 and
358 of the Criminal Code Cap “C38”, Laws of
the Federation, 2004, states: ‘In plain
language, a person has committed rape when
he has sexual relations (carnal knowledge)
with a woman against her will.’
In addition, a website,
www.sexoffenderattorney.com focuses on the
interpretation of the law in the United States,
hinting of a jail term of nothing less than 8
years.
‘Across the United States, the average prison
time for rape is between 8 and 9 years’ but it
remains to be seen how the case will go in the
weeks and months ahead.