Yomi Fabiyi leads protest seeking Baba Ijesha’s release on bail

Yomi Fabiyi, Nollywood actor, has led a protest demanding the release of Baba Ijesha from police custody on bail.

Baba Ijesha has been in the news after he admitted to assaulting a 14-year-old girl, who happens to be the foster daughter of Comedian Princess.

Following his arrest, Baba Ijesha has remained in police custody where Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos state police commissioner, had stated that he would stay pending legal advice from the ministry of justice.

Moyosore Onigbanjo, the commissioner for justice, had later explained that the state’s directorate of public prosecutions had recommended five charges against the film star — which put him at risk of being sentenced to life imprisonment.

On Wednesday, Fabiyi led protesters from Casino Bus Stop to the Panti police station demanding Baba Ijesha’s release.

The protesters could be seen with placards with various inscriptions that read, “Denial of bail of bailable offence is human rights violation”, “Say no to set-up, say no to torture”, and “Ilegal detention is a human rights violation, don’t support it” among others.

They also argued that the actor should be set free from detention pending when a court would hear his case.

Fabiyi, who had openly expressed his support for Baba Ijesha, described the actor’s continued detention as “illegal”.

Odumosu, who had spoken of the case against Baba Ijesha, said the actor’s offence remains bailable, unlike rape.

“You don’t do trial on pages of the newspaper. There are two cases involved in the Baba Ijebu case: he was alleged seven years ago to have defiled a girl and the girl is now 14 years,” the commissioner had said.

“At that time, no complaint was made, but last week, a video went viral where he was arrested for sexual assault.

“When a man touches a woman where he is not supposed to, without authority and consent, that is what is called sexual assault. That is exactly what is there. He admitted that he actually assaulted.”