A former medical director at the Optimal Cancer Care Foundation in Lagos, Dr Olufemi Olaleye, has been remanded in custody in the United Kingdom over allegations of sexual offences.
He was brought before the Medway Magistrates’ Court on Friday, which ordered his remand till January 2, 2026.
It was gathered that the 57-year-old was arrested at the Gatwick Airport, London, on Thursday, November 27, upon arriving in the UK from Nigeria.
He was immediately taken into custody by the North Kent Police Station for questioning.
Olaleye, a British citizen, worked in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Darent Valley Hospital under the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust from January 2005 to September 2008.
It was around this time that the alleged sexual incidents involving several women happened.
Kent Police, which confirmed his arrest to our correspondent on Tuesday, said three charges of voyeurism were filed against the suspect.
The Police Press Officer, Charles Harman, while responding to enquiries from Saturday PUNCH via email, said, “Kent Police was made aware of a man suspected of offences returning to the UK from Nigeria via Gatwick airport on Thursday, 27 November 2025. Officers attended the terminal and a man was arrested. Francis Olaleye, 57, from Plumstead Common Road, Plumstead, London, was later charged with three counts of voyeurism. He denied all charges at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, November 29, and has been remanded in custody until his next hearing on Friday, December 5.”
After the police identified the suspect with the name “Francis”, Applesbite dug into Olaleye’s social media profiles to avoid a case of mistaken identity.
Findings by our correspondent showed that the medical doctor may have changed his name a few times.
On Company House, he was identified as “Frank Olufemi Olaleye”.
But when he registered as a director at Wish for Africa, a charity organisation he formed in October 2007 and dissolved in 2010, he identified as “Frank Olaleye”.
In his certificate of incorporation, he claimed “Olufemi” was his previous surname.
On LinkedIn and Instagram, however, he identified as “Dr Femi Olaleye”.
In cover photos of books he authored, which he shared on Instagram, he identified as “Olufemi Olaleye”.
It is not clear when he added “Francis” to his name.
However, it was confirmed that Frank, Femi, Olufemi, Francis are all the same person who worked as a medical doctor in Dartford and was director at Wish for Africa.
There also appears to be a discrepancy in his age.
While his record with Company House showed he was born August 1968 (57), on Instagram, Olaleye in August 2025 told his followers he was ready to give 58 of his books out to mark his 58th birthday.
Voyeurism
A support officer from the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, Matt J, while responding via email, gave more details of the charges against Olaleye — three counts of voyeurism—recording a private act—punishable under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003.
The charges state, “Between 01/05/2004 and 31/07/2007 at Dartford in the county of Kent recorded another person doing a private act with the intention that you would, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, look at an image of that other person doing the act, knowing that the other person did not consent to your recording the act with that intention.”
Voyeurism, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, is the practice of getting pleasure by secretly watching people who are wearing no clothes or having sex.
In the UK, it is illegal to secretly watch, film, or photograph someone expecting privacy—such as when naked, using the toilet, or having sex—without their consent.
Findings by our correspondent showed that while the defendant was in the UK at the time, he allegedly filmed sexual acts with some women.
Applesbite gathered that among them was a married woman whose explicit video was seen by her husband, leading to the dissolution of her marriage.
The victim is among the three police witnesses.
Morademu S.O., of the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre, said when the matter came up for hearing on Friday, Olaleye was ordered to be remanded till January 2, 2026 when the remand would be reviewed.
In an email exchange, she said the court heard that the defendant could re-offend, posed a flight risk and could abscond.
The matter was adjourned for hearing till January 21 at 10am in Courtroom 01, Maidstone Magistrates’ Court.
Olaleye’s legal troubles in Nigeria
Olaleye’s arrest in the UK in November 2025 follows a high-profile sexual offence case in Lagos.
He was arraigned on November 30, 2022, before the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on two counts of defilement of a child and sexual assault by penetration involving his wife’s niece.
The allegations spanned March 2020 to November 2021, when the survivor was reported to be 15 to 16.
His estranged wife, Aderemi Olaleye, testified as the first prosecution witness.
She told the court that the survivor lived with them from November 2019 and confessed in November 2021 that Olaleye had been sexually abusing her.
Aderemi recounted that the abuse began with introducing the girl to pornography, progressing to fingering, oral sex, and penetration, often in areas of the home without CCTV cameras, typically around 2am.
She alleged Olaleye drugged her with substances like junior aspirin and Phenergan on nights he wanted to abuse the niece, and that the family driver once saw the girl vomiting sperm.
Aderemi reported the matter to the police in March 2022 after the survivor confided in a relative.
Medical evidence from the Mirabel Centre showed the girl had bruises and cuts in her private parts.
On October 24, 2023, Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Olaleye on both counts and sentenced him to life imprisonment, describing him as a “dangerous offender” with no remorse.
However, Olaleye appealed the conviction.
On November 29, 2024, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal nullified the conviction, discharged, and acquitted him.
The appellate court, led by Justice Olukayode Bada, overturned Oshodi’s judgement, citing tainted testimony, lack of credible evidence, and critical errors in the trial court’s proceedings.
It ruled that the prosecution evidence was unreliable, particularly describing Aderemi as a “tainted witness” motivated by greed to seize Olaleye’s assets.
The court cited instances where she allegedly changed car ownership, manipulated bank signatures, and pressured him to transfer house ownership while he was in custody.
It also noted inconsistencies in testimonies and that the trial judge improperly interfered by descending into the arena.
The Lagos State Government appealed to the Supreme Court on December 27, 2024, seeking to reverse the acquittal and restore the conviction.
But after the appeal court ruling, Olaleye left Nigeria.
Posts on his social media showed he visited different countries, including the United States, United Arab Emirates, Italy and authored four books on his trial, where he claimed to be a survivor.
He also granted press interviews published in many national newspapers, which he posted on his Instagram.
He was going to London when he was arrested at the Gatwick Airport.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
