Lagos State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, has issued a strong rebuttal to viral social media posts claiming that Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly called Baba Ijesha, was absolved of all charges by the Court of Appeal.
He described the trending narrative as a deliberate distortion of the legal record.
During a media briefing on Sunday, Pedro condemned the reports as “false, misleading and irresponsible,” warning that they pose a serious risk of confusing the public. The misinformation, he noted, originated from a post by actor Yomi Fabiyi and was later replicated by an online outlet, both alleging that the appellate court had exonerated Baba Ijesha and that the entire prosecution lacked merit.
Pedro dismissed the claims outright, stressing that “no such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process.” He then walked through the full legal history to clarify the situation.
He reaffirmed that the Lagos State High Court, on July 14, 2022, found Baba Ijesha guilty of sexual assault and the indecent treatment of a minor over incidents that took place in 2021 and handed him concurrent sentences of five and three years.
Although the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, nullified convictions tied to alleged actions in 2013 and 2014, Pedro stressed that the court firmly upheld the 2021 conviction in its June 28, 2024 ruling.
He added that the convict’s attempt to challenge the appellate court’s decision at the Supreme Court failed twice—first when the appeal was struck out on May 29, 2025, for incompetence, and again on October 9, 2025, when a motion to file a fresh appeal was dismissed. With those outcomes, the Court of Appeal judgment sustaining the 2021 conviction remained final.
Pedro clarified that Baba Ijesha regained freedom simply because he had completed his sentence, not because he was acquitted. “Mr. Olanrewaju James was not cleared of the offences of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child,” he reiterated.
The Attorney-General urged Lagos residents and the general public to ignore the false reports and advised Fabiyi, along with any media platforms spreading the misinformation, to desist. He also warned that persistent publication of such content could trigger criminal proceedings under Section 39 of the Lagos Criminal Law, which penalizes false news intended to cause fear or alarm.
Pedro reaffirmed the government’s commitment to safeguarding children, enforcing valid convictions, and ensuring that judicial decisions are represented truthfully in the public space.
