The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, has dismissed reports claiming that Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, was acquitted and cleared of all charges โ including sexual offences involving a minor โ by the Court of Appeal.
The rumours followed claims made on Friday, November 14, by actor Yomi Fabiyi, who alleged that Baba Ijesha had been released from prison after the Court of Appeal supposedly dismissed his sexual abuse case. Fabiyi asserted that the appellate court had exonerated the actor and described the entire case as a โcharade.โ
Addressing journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Pedro condemned the circulating narrative as false, misleading, and irresponsible, stressing that it grossly distorted judicial records and had the potential to misinform the public.
โNo such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process,โ he said.
Pedro confirmed that the Lagos State High Court had, on July 14, 2022, convicted Baba Ijesha of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child relating to incidents that occurred in 2021, sentencing him to five and three years respectively, to run concurrently.
He further explained that although the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on June 28, 2024, set aside convictions tied to alleged offences from 2013 to 2014, it unequivocally upheld the conviction and sentence for the 2021 sexual assault charges. The judgment stood firm after an appeal to the Supreme Court was struck out on May 29, 2025, for incompetence, and a final motion seeking leave to file a fresh appeal was dismissed on October 9, 2025. Consequently, the 2021 conviction affirmed by the Court of Appeal remains valid.
Pedro clarified that the actorโs release resulted solely from having completed his full term of imprisonment as upheld by the Court of Appeal, not from being discharged or acquitted.
โMr. Olanrewaju James was not cleared of the offences of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child,โ he emphasized.
He urged Lagos residents and the general public to disregard the misleading claims and cautioned Yomi Fabiyi โ as well as any platform spreading the misinformation โ to cease immediately.
Pedro warned that his office may initiate criminal proceedings for publishing false news with intent to cause fear or alarm, an offence under Section 39 of the Lagos Criminal Law, should the misinformation continue.
