Baba Ijesha: Lagos AG Refutes Claims of Acquittal
Actor Yomi Fabiyi, on Friday, November 14, claimed that Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, was released from prison after a Court of Appeal dismissed his sexual abuse case. Fabiyi further asserted that the appellate court had exonerated Baba Ijesha and that the entire case was a charade.
However, Lawal Pedro, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, has strongly refuted these reports. Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Pedro described the circulating narrative as false, misleading, and irresponsible, stressing that it completely distorts the judicial record and could severely mislead the public.
“No such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process,” Pedro stated firmly.
He confirmed that the High Court of Lagos State, on July 14, 2022, convicted Baba Ijesha for sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child over incidents that occurred in 2021, sentencing him to five years and three years respectively, to run concurrently.
Pedro explained that while the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on June 28, 2024, set aside convictions relating to alleged offences from 2013 to 2014, it unequivocally upheld the conviction and sentence for the 2021 sexual assault charges.
“The conviction was further solidified after a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was first struck out on May 29, 2025, on grounds of incompetence. A final motion for leave to file a fresh appeal was dismissed on October 9, 2025, thereby leaving the Court of Appeal judgment, which affirmed the 2021 conviction, fully intact,” Pedro stated.
He clarified that Baba Ijesha’s release from prison was strictly because he had completed his full term of imprisonment, not because he was discharged or acquitted. “Mr Olanrewaju James was not cleared of the offences of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child,” the AG insisted.
Pedro urged Lagos residents and the wider public to disregard the circulating claims. He also cautioned Fabiyi and any platform amplifying the falsehood to desist immediately, warning that his office would not hesitate to initiate criminal proceedings for publishing false news with intent to cause fear or alarm, an offence under Section 39 of the Lagos Criminal Law.
The Attorney-General reiterated the state’s commitment to protecting children, enforcing criminal convictions, and ensuring that judicial outcomes are accurately represented in the public domain.