The Court of Appeal in Lagos has upheld the five-year jail term imposed on Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, for sexually assaulting a minor in 2021. The appellate court, however, set aside some portions of his earlier convictions relating to alleged incidents said to have taken place between 2013 and 2014, ruling that the testimonies provided for those years were hearsay and legally insufficient.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Folashade Ojo, alongside Justices Abdullahi Bayero and Paul Bassi, affirmed that the prosecution successfully proved the key offence committed in April 2021. The court held that eyewitness accounts in the 2021 incident were credible and consistent, thereby justifying the trial court’s decision to convict him for indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault.
The court further noted that Baba Ijesha’s confessional statements, made during the 2021 investigation, were admissible and carried substantial evidential weight. Claims by the defence that the actor was coerced into confessing were rejected, as the appellate court found no supporting evidence of duress or intimidation in the record.
On the other hand, the panel dismissed the convictions linked to events purported to have occurred several years earlier, stating that the testimonies relied upon were not firsthand accounts and failed the legal test of direct evidence. This partial victory for the actor, however, does not affect the overall duration of his imprisonment.
With the ruling, Baba Ijesha will continue to serve the concurrent sentences of five and three years handed down by the Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court in 2022. The judgment reinforces the appellate court’s stance that while some charges were unproven, the core 2021 offence was established beyond reasonable doubt.