The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has upheld the judgment of a Lagos State High Court, which sentenced Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, to five years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Folashade Ojo, the appellate court found Baba Ijesha guilty on counts 4 and 5, where he was accused of indecently touching a minor and sexually assaulting her. Justices Abdullahi Bayero and Paul Bassi aligned themselves with the lead judgment.
Baba Ijesha faced a six-count charge brought by the Lagos State Government, including indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration, and sexual assault by penetration.
The trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (rtd) of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, had previously sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment for sexual assault of a minor. The court found him guilty of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault between 2013 and 2014, as per Section 135 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.
However, Justice Taiwo acquitted him of sexual assault by penetration, related to an alleged incident seven years ago involving the minor and his car key. Additionally, the charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration during another encounter with the minor on April 22, 2021, was not upheld.
The court held that the prosecution successfully proved counts two and three, which involved indecently placing the survivor on Baba Ijesha’s lap and rubbing his penis on her body.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Baba Ijesha appealed through his counsel, Mr. Kayode Olabiran. He argued that the prosecution failed to prove the sexual assault allegations, contending that he merely acted out a script he was invited to perform.
Justice Folashade Ojo, in delivering the appeal judgment, set aside the appellant’s conviction on indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault of a minor between 2013 and 2014, considering the testimony of PW1 (Damilola Adekoya) as hearsay.
However, the court emphasized that PW1’s eyewitness account of the events on April 19, 2021, remained credible. The appellant’s voluntary confession to the crime during that incident was also noted, as he did not challenge PW1’s statement throughout the proceedings.
The court highlighted that the appellant’s extra-judicial statements, made at Sabo Police Station and the State Criminal Investigation Department, supported the evidence. In those statements, Baba Ijesha admitted to indecently touching and molesting PW2 while she was alone with him in PW1’s apartment.
Justice Ojo concluded that the victim, as of her testimony date, was at best 15 years old, qualifying as a child under Section 261 of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State, 2015. The appellant’s failure to challenge PW2’s evidence further strengthened the case against him.
