Baba Ijesha risks life imprisonment for sexual abuse
Baba Ijesha risks life imprisonment for sexual abuse once he is charged to court. The directive to charge the actor came from the Lagos State Government.
The Lagos State Government has advised the state Police Command to charge Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, also known as Baba Ijesha, to court over the sexual abuse allegation against him.
The directive was given by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions which revealed that Baba Ijesha may be sentenced to life imprisonment if he is found guilty of the allegations leveled against him.
This was revealed in a statement issued on Tuesday, the 4th of May, 2021, and signed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos, Hon. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN).
According to the statement, “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:
“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.
Furthermore, though the State would make sure that Mr. Olanrewaju James’s rights as written in the Nigerian Constitution are upheld, the Ministry of Justice would not do its best to ensure that whoever sexually abuses any resident of Lagos State is brought to justice.
It is important to note that the Lagos State Ministry of Justice has consistently put in effort when it comes to protecting the vulnerable in the 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.
The Attorney-General hereby assured residents of Lagos that in accordance with the DPP’s advice, charges would be filed accordingly, if the actor is found guilty.
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