The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the decision of the Lagos State High Court, which sentenced popular Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, known as Baba Ijesha, to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor in Lagos.
The Court of Appeal in Lagos, in its lead judgment, presided by Justice Folashade Ojo, found the appellant, Baba Ijesha, guilty on counts 4 and 5, which involved indecently touching and sexually assaulting a minor. Justices Abdullahi Bayero and Paul Bassi concurred with this decision.
The Lagos State Government had charged Baba Ijesha with six counts, including indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration, and sexual assault by penetration. On July 14, 2022, the trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment.
The court found him guilty of offenses committed between 2013 and 2014, contrary to Section 135 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.
Dissatisfied with this verdict, The defendant, Mr Kayode Olabiran, appealed, arguing the prosecution failed to prove the charges and claimed his Client was merely acting a script.
However, Justice Ojo upheld the conviction for the 2021 incident, citing credible eyewitness testimony from Damilola Adekoya and Baba Ijesha’s voluntary confession. The appellant’s extra-judicial statements made at Sabo Police Station and the State Criminal Investigation Department were also tendered as evidence.
Ruling on the case, Justice Ojo said;
“The law is certain that there is no other evidence other than admission in commission of an offence. From the totality of the evidence of PW2 it can be safely inferred that as at the date of the victim’s testimony she was at best 15 years old and a child by virtue of Section 261 of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State, 2015.
“It is significant to note that the appellant did not challenge PW2’s on the evidence she gave. It is in view of all these that I hold that the prosecution established that PW2, the victim of the offence was a child at the time of the alleged offences in 2021.
