Nollywood actor, Omiyinka Olanrewaju, popularly called Baba Ijesha, may be sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Sexual Offences Court sitting in Ikeja when the Lagos State Government drag him before the court for alleged defilement and four other charges.
Other charges that may be instituted against the actor by the state government include indecent treatment of a child, Sexual Assault by Penetration, Attempted Sexual Assault by Penetration, and Sexual Assault.
The punishment for the charges about to be leveled against Omiyinka range between life imprisonment and a three-year jail term which is attached to Sexual Assault under the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
These were disclosed on Tuesday in a statement released by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, who stated that the five charges were recommended by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Onigbanjo, while assuring Nigerians that in accordance with the DPP’s advice, charges would be filed accordingly before the court against the actor who was arrested last month over alleged sexual molestation of a child.
He said: “The five charges are: Section 135, Indecent Treatment of a child- punishable by 7 years imprisonment, Section 137- Defilement of a Child-, punishable by life imprisonment, Section 261- Sexual Assault by Penetration- punishable by life imprisonment, Section 262- Attempted Sexual Assault by Penetration, punishable by 14 years imprisonment and Section 263, Sexual Assault- punishable by 3 years imprisonment”.
Onigbanjo’s statement reads: “It would be recalled that the Nigeria Police Force arrested Mr. Olanrewaju James (also referred to as Baba Ijesha) on account of various sexual abuse allegations. On the 30th of April, 2021, the Police forwarded the case file of COP v Olanrewaju James to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
“After due consideration of the facts in the case file, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions issued legal advice on the 4th of May, 2021, which is to the effect that a prima facie case has been disclosed against Mr. Olanrewaju James and recommended he be charged under the following provisions of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015:
“Whilst the State would ensure that Mr. Olanrewaju James’s rights as enshrined in the Constitution are upheld, the Ministry of Justice would not relent in its efforts in ensuring that whoever sexually abuses any resident of Lagos State is speedily brought to book.
“It is instructive to note that the Lagos State Ministry of Justice has been consistent in its efforts in protecting the vulnerable in our society and since the establishment of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team in 2014, it has till date prosecuted over 800 cases of Sexual and Domestic offenses”.
