A senior officer at Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that a directive has been given for the release of Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, aka Baba Ijesha, from custody, following his arrest for allegedly raping teenager.
Read Also: Veteran Nollywood Actor, Baba Ijesha Arrested For Allegedly Defiling 14-Year-Old Girl For 7 Years
According to ThePunch, the police source said the ongoing strike action by members of Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria has prevented courts in the state from sitting and this has prevented the police from arraigning the suspect, adding that Baba Ijesha cannot be detained indefinitely without trial.
Read Also: JUSUN Strike: National Body Overrules Lagos Chapter On Partial Reopening
The source added that investigation into the case shows the actor did not defile the victim, adding that when she was questioned, the victim confirmed the same.
The senior police officer stated;
There was no case of defilement, people are just talking out of sentiment. They are not talking from the point of law. We interviewed all parties involved in the case for three hours today (Wednesday).
The mother complained that her child was at the age of seven when she was defiled and the child pointed at Baba Ijesha. But the case was not reported until she was 14 years and under the law, the case has become statute-barred.
Read Also: Outrage Trails Baba Ijesha’s Arrest After Being Caught On CCTV Molesting 14-Year-Old Girl
He added;
Regarding this new case, the CCTV footage has been assessed and nowhere was it captured that Baba Ijesha defiled her. The footage only showed him touching the victim’s body but it never showed him having any sexual intercourse with the girl. The girl also confirmed the same thing.
So, in law, it is a case of indecent assault and not sexual harassment, and it is open to bail. So, can we continue to keep him when the offence is subject to bail and when there is no court sitting? That is against his fundamental human rights and the police do not work on sentiments. Directives have been given out for his release on bail.
The source, however, said that despite granting Omiyinka bail, investigation would continue, adding that the command had also sought legal opinion from the state Ministry of Justice.
The source added;
A test was recently done on the victim and it was discovered that she had penetration. Is it the penetration of seven years that is still evident now, and who penetrated her then? Is there any medical report linking the man (Omiyinka) to the crime?
The CCTV footage never showed Baba Ijesha defiling her, but he confessed to touching her body indecently and apologised, and the girl confirmed the same.
Investigation is still ongoing and we have instructed them to conduct a medical examination on the victim at a government recognised medical facility. We are not specialists in the field and we have also sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Justice.
The new development comes less than a day after popular comedienne, Damilola Adekoya, aka Princess, revealed that she is the foster mother of the victim and narrated details of the incident during a live broadcast on Instagram on Wednesday.
During the broadcast, Princess disclosed that after the crash of her marriage, some parents allowed about six children to live with her so she wouldn’t be lonely.
She said she was also helping Baba Ijesha while taking care of the children but alleged that it was during one of his visits to her house that he molested one of the three girls living with her.
Princess expressed that the defilement had an adverse effect on the child as she began to decline academically and otherwise.
According to her, the Yoruba actor betrayed her trust and years of mentorship by committing the act.
She stated;
The child started failing in school, I paid for private lessons and when I told my family, they told me we should pray, maybe it is spiritual. But I kept on saying that something is wrong, this child has changed.
My friend talked to the child again to know what was going on, she told us what happened, I was shocked… I called the CCTV company to set a camera, we asked everybody to go out and stay in a neighbour’s house, she (the victim) was afraid, we said she should calm down.
Princess narrated;
He came in and saw that there was nobody at home and I told him I want to see dstv people off and I will stay long…I dropped my phone, went out and locked the door. Two seconds later, he stood up, begin to check my whole house to be sure that none of the children were inside sleeping.
I can’t begin to relay the things that he did, I was shaking because we were monitoring it on the phone. Police came immediately and picked him up, I asked him, Lanre, what is my offense? You know I didn’t give birth and the children were in my care so I won’t be thinking and you did something like this to me? He said it is the devil…
