Sexual Assault: Court of Appeal reserves judgment in baba Ijesha’s appeal

The Court of Appeal Lagos Division has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, alias Baba Ijesha.

He is challenging his conviction by a Lagos State High Court over the sexual assault of a minor.

The three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Folasade Ojo reserved the appeal for judgment on Tuesday after listening to arguments of the appellant and the respondent.

Other members of the panel are Justice Abdullahi Bayero and Justice Paul Bassi.

Baba Ijesha in his notice of appeal marked CA/LAG/CR/544/23, and filed on June 1, 2023
asked the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the lower court.

Baba Ijesha through his counsel, Kayode Olabiran, urged the appellate court to declare that his conviction and sentence were done in error.

At the hearing of the appeal on Tuesday, Baba Ijesha’s counsel told the court that the prosecution could not prove that Baba Ijesha sexually assaulted the victim.

” The charge itself is centered on defilement of a minor but the prosecution couldn’t prove the age of the victim.

“The Appellant was set up. The Appellant is an actor. He acted in a script that he was invited to act by his colleague (PW1), Damilola Adekoya.

“(PW1)Damilola Adekoya, asked the Appeallant to come and act a script. It is in the statement of PW1, at Panti Police Station, unknowingly to the appellant there was a CCTV in the sitting room.

” Whatever we watched in that movie was a script by the producer and the video of the scene of the acting was tendered by the prosecution.

” Based on his confessional statement as at the day of the arrest he was under duress and there were so many people who were beating him that was when he confessed to the offence,” he said.

In his response, the DPP, Dr Babajide Martins urged the court to dismiss the appeal as it’s lacking in merit and also a misconception.

On the age of the victim, Dr Martin submitted that the victim said she was born on October 6, 2006, which puts her age in 2013 (when the offenxe was committed) at 14.

” At the time she gave evidence in 2021, she was 17 years old, which still makes her a child,” he said.

Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (rtd) of the Lagos State Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on July 14, 2022, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment for the offences.

The judge convicted and sentenced him after he was found guilty of four counts out of six counts, in the charge preferred against him by the Lagos State government.

The counts bordered on indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.

The trial court found Baba Ijesha guilty of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault, of a minor between 2013 and 2014, which is contrary to Section 135 of Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.

Justice Taiwo exonerated him of the offence of sexual assault by penetration which deals with allegedly sexually assaulting the minor by penetration with his car key seven years ago and attempted sexual assault by penetration during another encounter with the minor on April 22, 2021.

The judge held that the prosecution successfully proved counts two and three that he indecently placed the survivor on his lap and rubbed his sexual organ on her body.

Justice Taiwo in her judgment held that the convict confessed that he molested the girl in 2021. “The court can convict a person based on his confessions. The convict was consistent in his admission in the two videos.

“The argument of the defence that the prosecution failed to state the exact age of the survivor cannot stand as the law states that anyone under the age of 18 years is regarded as a child,” she said.