Lagos AG denies appeal court clearance of baba Ijesha, says actor only completed jail term

By Obasola Olatunde 

The Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN, has dismissed as false and misleading claims that Nollywood actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, was “cleared” by the Court of Appeal, insisting that the actor merely completed his lawful prison sentence and was never exonerated of sexual assault charges involving a minor.

Pedro, who spoke to journalists in Lagos on Monday, said his office was alarmed by a social media post authored by actor Yomi Fabiyi later echoed by an online platform alleging that the appellate court had absolved Baba Ijesha and described the 2021 conviction as a “charade.” He described the assertions as a gross distortion of court records.

The Attorney General outlined the full case history, noting that the Lagos High Court, on July 14, 2022, convicted Baba Ijesha of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child, sentencing him to five and three years respectively, to run concurrently.

Pedro said although the Court of Appeal on June 28, 2024 set aside older charges relating to incidents allegedly committed in 2013–2014, it fully upheld the 2021 conviction and sentence for sexual assault.

He added that Baba Ijesha’s subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court was struck out on May 29, 2025 for incompetence, and his later request to file a fresh appeal was dismissed on October 9, 2025. This, he said, left the Court of Appeal judgment completely intact.

“The convict’s release was strictly because he had served his full term of imprisonment not because he was discharged or acquitted,” Pedro stated.

He warned that circulating false judicial information is capable of misleading the public and stressed that the Attorney General’s office would not hesitate to prosecute individuals or platforms that persist in publishing falsehoods likely to cause fear or alarm, an offence under Section 39 of the Lagos Criminal Law.

Pedro reaffirmed the state's commitment to child protection, enforcement of criminal convictions, and ensuring that judicial outcomes are accurately represented in the public space.