The Court of Appeal in Lagos state has affirmed the five-year jail term sentence of Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, for the crime of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor.
Ijesha was sentenced to five years in prison by the Lagos State High Court by Justice Folashade Ojo, who found Baba Ijesha guilty on counts 4 and 5, which involved inappropriately touching and sexually assaulting the minor.
Justices Abdullahi Bayero and Paul Bassi had agreed with the lead judgment.
How It Started
Recall that Baba Ijesha had been arraigned by the Lagos State Government on a six-count charge over the indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration, and sexual assault by penetration.
The Nollywood actor had been sentenced to five years imprisonment for sexually assaulting the minor on July 14, 2022 by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (rtd) of the Lagos State Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court.
The court found him guilty of immoral treatment of a child and sexual assault between 2013 and 2014, violating Section 135 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.
Justice Taiwo had however, acquitted Baba Ijesha of sexual assault by penetration and attempted sexual assault by penetration because the prosecution successfully proved counts two and three, demonstrating that he (Ijesha) had indecently placed the survivor on his lap and rubbed his penis on her body.
Through his counsel, Kayode Olabiran, Baba Ijesha had appealed the conviction, with the claims that the prosecution did not prove the sexual assault. He had also argued that he was acting in a script provided by a colleague, Damilola Adekoya (PW1).
But Justice Ojo had set aside Baba Ijesha’s conviction for the alleged 2013-2014 incidents, describing Adekoya’s testimony as hearsay.
However, for the April 19, 2021 incident, Justice Ojo found Adekoya’s eyewitness account plausible, emphasising that Baba Ijesha had confessed to the crime in statements he had made to the police.
Justice Ojo further remarked that Baba Ijesha had admitted to indecently touching and molesting the victim while alone with her in Adekoya’s apartment. The court underscored how Baba Ijesha’s actions on April 19, 2021, had not been part of a script but a personal encounter, as evidenced by the victim’s testimony and body language.
The appellate court approved Baba Ijesha’s conviction for the immoral treatment of a child and sexual assault from the April 2021 incident and Justice Ojo concluded that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
