Entertainment
Updated: May 03, 2021

Baba Ijesha: Over 7,500 Petition Sign Against Yoruba Actor's Release

By Adedayo Babatunde
May 03, 2021
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Following the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of Nigerian actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, better known as Baba Ijesha molesting and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old foster child of popular comedienne, Adekola Adekanya, otherwise called Princess, over 7,500 persons have signed a petition to prevent his release.

According to the report, the actor was also said to have first defiled the minor when she was seven and repeated same recently.

The petition, which was started by the Aunt Landa’s Bethel Foundation, on behalf of the teenager’s foster mother, Princess, was titled, ‘Olanrewaju James Omiyinka must not be released in Nigeria for defiling a 7 years old girl’.

When visited on Monday morning, the petition portal domiciled on www.change.org had attracted over 7,600 signatories.

“Truly he defiled her in my sitting room years ago when I went downstairs to lock the gate after my aunt who had come to console me on the collapse of my marriage and loss of baby (her other siblings had gone out to play at the end of the street).

She said after cleaning certain liquid (we suspect was sperm and blood) from her bum and his body, he warned her not to tell anyone and that it was nothing,” Princess said in the petition while seeking justice on the matter.

Since the news surfaced on media, Baba Ijesha has been under fire since April 22, 2021, when the Lagos State Police Command announced his arrest for sexual assault.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, said there was substantial evidence against the actor as he was caught in the act on Closed Circuit Television.

The PPRO stated, “Based on preliminary findings, the suspect started sexually assaulting the victim since she was seven years old. The suspect confessed to the crime and was also captured by a CCTV camera in the house of the complainant.”

The footage reviewed also showed that Baba Ijesha kissed and fondled sensitive parts of the body of the 14-year-old girl.

However, in a twist of events, a senior police officer said that the actor may be released anytime soon. The source said due to the ongoing strike by members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria, courts had ceased sitting and the suspect could not be detained indefinitely without trial.

But the impending release of Baba Ijesha has sparked outrage on social media with many opposing the move by the police.