Baba Ijesha’s Release Not an Acquittal, Says Lagos Attorney-General

By Micheal Chukwuebuka

The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, has refuted claims that Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, was acquitted and cleared of all charges — including sexual offences involving a minor — by the Court of Appeal.

Actor Yomi Fabiyi had on Friday, 14 November, claimed that Baba Ijesha was released from prison after the Court of Appeal dismissed his sexual abuse case, alleging that the appellate court had exonerated him and that the case had been a charade.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Sunday, the Attorney-General described the reports as false, misleading and irresponsible, stressing that they represented a gross distortion of judicial records and risked seriously misleading the public.

“No such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process,” Pedro stated.

He confirmed that the Lagos State High Court had on 14 July 2022 convicted Baba Ijesha of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child over incidents that took place in 2021, sentencing him to five and three years respectively — to run concurrently.

Pedro explained that although the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, had on 28 June 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 reinforced after a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was first struck out on 29 May 2025 for incompetence. A final motion seeking leave to file a fresh appeal was dismissed on 9 October 2025, leaving the Court of Appeal judgment — which affirmed the 2021 conviction — fully intact,” he said.

The Attorney-General clarified that the actor’s release was solely due to his completion of the full term of imprisonment as affirmed by the Court of Appeal, and 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,” Pedro emphasised.