Alleged defilement: Baba Ijesha to know fate July 14

The Ikeja Special Offences Court has reserved judgment until July 14 in the case of the embattled Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, alias Baba Ijesha, accused of defiling a 14-year-old minor.
On Monday, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo adjourned the case for judgment after the prosecution and defence counsel had adopted their final written addresses.
Defence counsel, Dada Awosika, in adopting his final written address dated May 12 and filed on May 16, urged the court to dismiss the suit and discharge the defendant.
Mr Awosika argued that the footage of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) was illegally obtained.
“The exhibit was not tendered by the maker. It was tendered by Princess, the complainant,” he said.
He argued that the recording had been tampered with, especially since the defendant did not go to the complainant’s house uninvited.
Mr Awosika added that this was even more strange as he was accused of a crime seven years ago, which was not reported to the police.
He further submitted that the alleged confessional statement of the defendant failed the provision of Section 9 (3 ) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos State 2021.
“We urge the court to discredit the confessional statement. The defendant moved in a jiffy to participate in a short skit that put him in trouble. My Lord, my client was trapped.
“Concerning the age of the girl in question, Exhibits D and E are not saying the same thing.
“It is our submission, My Lord, that the court is bound to call the biological mother inside the box to tell us her real age or her birth certificate or scientific evidence is tendered to ascertain the age but none was done.
“The prosecution agreed that the age of the minor must be established. However, it has also agreed that nothing has been done to provide the real age,” Mr Awosika said.
The Director of DPP, Babajide Martins, in his last written address dated May 31, however, urged the court to convict Baba Ijesha as charged.
He argued that one of the defence witnesses, Lawrence Ayeni told the court that the CCTV recording could not be manipulated.
“On the issue of the CCTV recording My Lord, the first defence witness(Ayeni) told this honourable court during cross-examination that it cannot be manipulated and that the content of CCTV cannot be changed.
“Most importantly, he said he cannot say if the sexual assault did not happen. These are the testimonies from the defence witness, My Lord.
“The defendant admitted to have been with the girl in both the incident that happened seven years ago and the one that happened in 2021.
“He also admitted to have sucked her fingers during the cross-examination,” he said.
He added that the charge of defilement could be meted out irrespective of the age below 18.
“We have compelling evidence of six prosecution witnesses which I must say are not contradictory,” Mr Martins said.
The DPP said the defendant also admitted during the trial that he never mentioned that he was acting a script when the police detained him at Sabo and Panti.
Baba Ijesha is facing a six-count charge of indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.
The charges were proffered against him by the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions(DPP).
Baba Ijesha, however, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.
The defendant was arraigned on June 24, 2021.
During the trial, six prosecution witnesses testified against him.
They were – actress and comedienne Princess, the 14-year-old minor, a child expert, Olabisi Ajayi-Kayode, and medical doctor, Aniekan Makanjuola.
Others were the investigating police officer, Wahab Kareem and a policewoman, Abigail Omane.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette

Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

States
Edo government bans unions from collecting haulage fees
He urged all stakeholders to take note of this directive and comply accordingly.

Abuja
AMAC to arrest touts harassing motorists over revenue collection
Mr Okechukwu clarified that AMAC officials were well-trained and operated within the law, unlike the illegal touts.

Agriculture
FG to recapitalise Bank of Agriculture to boost food security
“We must keep producing and keep producing food for Nigerians,” he said.

Hot news Home top
Trump says talks to end Ukrainian war underway after phone call with Russia’s Putin
The American leader said both he and the Russian president reminisced about centuries-old history.

NationWide
Ogun speaker commends Dangote for economic interventions
He said the business mogul has commenced the export of products from the petroleum refinery to other parts of the world.

Lagos
Lagos: Policeman arraigned, remanded in Kirikiri for defiling 17-year-old inside station
The teenage girl was said to have gone to the station on June 29, 2024, to report about her stolen phone.