The Lagos state government has rejected claims that the conviction of Olanrewaju Omiyinka, the actor popularly known as Baba Ijesha, for the sexual assault of a minor was overturned by an appeal court.
The rebuttal comes after fellow actor Yomi Fabiyi revealed last week that Baba Ijesha had been released because an appellate court had overturned his conviction, stating the public could request the case file to verify his story.
Labelling Fabiyi’s reports as “false, misleading, and irresponsible” during a recent press briefing, Lawal Pedro, the state attorney-general and commissioner for justice, clarified the official judicial record.
He expressed shock at the social media posts claiming exoneration, stating, “No such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process”.
Pedro outlined that Baba Ijesha was convicted on July 14, 2022, for sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child and sentenced to five and three years in prison, respectively, to run concurrently.
The attorney-general confirmed that the actor’s subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.
“No such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process,” he said.
“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.”
He concluded that Baba Ijesha was released for one reason only: “strictly because he had completed his full jail-term”.
Baba Ijesha was initially arraigned on a six-count charge in June 2021 and was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment in July 2022, with the terms running concurrently, leading to his five-year incarceration.
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