The Court of Appeal in Lagos has affirmed the judgement of the Lagos State High Court, sentencing Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, known as Baba Ijesha, to five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, News About Nigeria reports.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Folashade Ojo, the appellate court found Baba Ijesha guilty on counts 4 and 5, which involved indecently touching and sexually assaulting the minor.
Justices Abdullahi Bayero and Paul Bassi concurred with the lead judgement.
The Lagos State Government had arraigned Baba Ijesha on a six-count charge that included the indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration, and sexual assault by penetration.
In her judgement on July 14, 2022, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court sentenced him to five years imprisonment, finding him guilty of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault between 2013 and 2014, contrary to Section 135 of Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.
However, she exonerated him of the charges of sexual assault by penetration and attempted sexual assault by penetration.
Baba Ijesha, dissatisfied with the trial court’s decision, appealed, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove he sexually assaulted the victim and claimed he was acting in a script orchestrated by his colleague, Damilola Adekoya.
Justice Ojo’s ruling on the appeal set aside the appellant’s conviction for indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault of a minor from 2013 to 2014, describing Damilola Adekoya’s testimony as hearsay.
However, the court upheld the conviction for the events of April 19, 2021, noting that Adekoya’s eyewitness account was credible.
The court said that Baba Ijesha’s extra-judicial confessions made at the Sabo Police station and the State Criminal Investigation Department in April 2021, in which he admitted to indecently touching the victim, were significant.
Justice Ojo concluded, “The interaction between the victim and the appellant on April 19, 2021, was not a theatrical performance but a personal encounter. The appellant’s actions constituted sexual assault against the victim, violating Section 135 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.”
The court ordered that the conviction and five-year sentence for indecently touching a child in count 4 were affirmed.
The conviction and three-year sentence for sexual assault in count 5 were also affirmed. The sentences for counts 4 and 5 are to run concurrently.
