The Lagos Court of Appeal has upheld the five-year prison sentence of actor Baba Ijesha for sexually assaulting a minor.
The initial conviction was made by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court on July 12, 2022.
Baba Ijesha’s legal team, led by Kayode Olabiran, appealed the decision, seeking to overturn the conviction.
On June 27, 2024, Justice Folashade Ojo delivered the appellate court’s judgment, setting aside the conviction for indecent treatment and sexual assault between 2013-2014, citing hearsay testimony from the prosecution’s witness (Damilola Adekoya).
However, the court found Adekoya’s eyewitness account of the April 19, 2021, incident credible and upheld Baba Ijesha’s confession to the crime, as stated in his police statements.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence for indecent treatment and sexual assault related to the 2021 incident, concluding that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court reaffirmed the five-year imprisonment sentence, stating, “I affirm the conviction and sentence of the appellant to 5 years imprisonment for the offence of indecent treatment of a child contrary to section 135 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015 (count 4 of the charge).”
“I also affirm the appellant’s conviction to 3 years imprisonment for sexual assault contrary to section 263 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011 (count 5 of the information).“The sentences for counts 4 and 5 are to run concurrently”.
