Baba Ijesha: I made confessional statement under duress

Nollywood actor, James Omiyinka Olanrewaju popularly known as Baba Ijesha has made a U-turn disowning the confessional statement attributed to him in the sexual offences charge pressed against him.

According to him, he was forced to sign the statement when the thugs beat him and tortured him to admit to the said offence.

The defendant said this during the trial-within-trial held on Friday before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Special Court in Ikeja.

He added that he was beaten with a stick, forced to sit on the floor and to sign the statement.

He also claimed that everything in the statement was dictated to the police by the comedienne and complainant, Ms Damilola Adekola a.k.a Princess.

He was led in evidence by one of his counsels, Dada Awosika, SAN, during a trial-within-trial. “My cloth was torn; I was forced to sit on the ground. My body was shaking. They showed me the statement, I did not volunteer the statement. I was just asked to sign it. Princess dictated everything to them,” he alleged.

He said further that when Insp. Oname Abigail arrived Princess’ house on April 19, the day he was arrested, the complainant hid some boys who were beating him inside a room before allowing her to come inside.

He said that when he was led outside, some boys again came and beat him until he was rescued by some police officers who took him on a bike to Sabo Divisional Police Headquarters and locked him up in a cell.

During cross-examination by the prosecuting counsel, Yusuf Sule, Baba Ijesha insisted he did not volunteer the statement but that the content was dictated to the police by the complainant.

He also denied knowledge of the current residence of the complainant, insisting that only her former residence was known to him.

But curiously he owned up to the names of his father, mother, primary and secondary schools attended, his age, dropping out of the University of Lagos, Akoka when he could no longer cope with a course he was studying.

Baba Ijesha failed to respond when confronted by the prosecution that the IPO could not have known his details if he did not volunteer any information to her.

But the police representative insisted that Baba Ijesha voluntarily made the statement under caution and approved of it when it was ready to hit.

Insp. Abigail insisted she read cautionary words to Baba Ijesha and that he told her he understood English and everything she read to him.

Baba Ijesha is facing a six-count charge bordering on allegations of indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.

He has pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge.