Metro / Crimes
Actor Baba Ijesha Seeks Overturn of Sexual Assault Conviction in Appeal Court
Israel Adeleke
In a recent turn of events, Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, has filed an appeal against his conviction for sexual assault.
The renowned Yoruba actor is challenging the five-year sentence handed down by the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court last year.
Recall that Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (retd.) of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on July 14, 2022, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment over the sexual assault of a minor.
But dissatisfied with the judgment, Baba Ijesha approached the appeal court to challenge his five-year jail term.
The actor’s legal representative, Kayode Olabiran, who presented the case before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on Tuesday, asserted that Baba Ijesha was merely performing a script at the behest of his colleague, Damilola Adekoya.
He argued that the prosecution did not prove that Baba Ijesha sexually assaulted the victim.
Olabiran said ” The charge itself is centered on defilement of a minor but the prosecution couldn’t prove the age of the victim.
He further argued that his client’s actions were part of a setup, and therefore, his conviction should be reconsidered.
He said “The Appellant was set up. The Appellant is an actor. He acted in a script that he was invited to act by his colleague (PW1), Damilola Adekoya,
“(PW1)Damilola Adekoya, asked the Appellant to come and act a script. It is in the statement of PW1, at Panti Police Station, unknown to the appellant there was a CCTV in the sitting room.
“Whatever we watched in that movie was a script by the producer and the video of the scene of the acting was tendered by the prosecution.
“Based on his confessional statement as at the day of the arrest, he was under duress and there were so many people who were beating him …that was when he confessed to the offence,” he said.
Olabiran urged the court to allow the appeal and set aside the judgment of the lower court.
On the other side, the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, stood firm on the original judgment.
He implored the appellate court to dismiss the appeal, citing a lack of merit and the presence of misconceptions in the actor’s argument.
On the age of the victim, Dr. Martins submitted that the victim said she was born on October 6, 2006, which puts her age at 14, in 2013 when the offence was committed.
“At the time she gave evidence in 2021, she was 17 years old, which still makes her a child,” he said.
He urged the court to affirm the judgment of the lower court.
However, after listening to the parties, the court reserved its judgment till a later date.
Metro / Crimes
Workers Land In Hospital After Task Force ‘Mistakenly’ Throw Teargas in Ikeja High Court Staff Bus
Fawaz Adebisi
Staff members of Ikeja High Court, Lagos Judiciary have landed at the Orile Agege general hospital after men of the state Task Force mistakenly threw teargas into the judiciary staff bus conveying them.
The incident happened on on Monday at Ile-ipo after Abule-egba when the workers were onboarding the state judiciary staff bus.
According to a witness who spoke with Freedom Times, the Task Force men were controlling herders who have their cows and rams on the road.
“They wanted to clear the road, so they were throwing tear gas, so it mistakenly entered our bus, many of us are injured and in the hospital right now,” the witness said.
However, as of the time of filing this report, some of the workers have received treatment and have the discharged.
Also, the force has not made any statement yet to this regard.
In a shocking turn of an event, the public and private development centre, a non-government organisation, (NGO) has revealed that over 53,000 inmates are awaiting trials across the 253 Correctional Centres in the country.
The non-governmental organisation, who hosted over 20 civil society organisations in Yola, the state capital to discuss the way forward on the huge number of inmates awaiting trials in correctional centres, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Head of Communication and Knowledge Management, Munachi Okoro.
Okoro stated, “The growing number of pretrial detainees, many held for years without trial under dire conditions, poses significant human rights concerns, overwhelming the justice system and correctional facilities.”
The statement added that the meeting will focus on communication strategies, resource management, and collaboration problem solving techniques for pro bono legal services.
Also, speaking at the meeting with the CSOs in Yola, the programme assistant of the centre, Hauwa Yusuf, said that the reforming of the pretrial detention in Nigeria phase ll project is supported by the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
The Adamawa State Programme Officer Barr. Fatima Bello, while speaking on the overall objectives of the PPDC project, said that the project aimed at deploying over 370 law clinicians and 50 pro bono lawyers to provide legal representation to 1,750 detainees annually.
According to Bello, this will reduce the pretrial population, and it will strengthen Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
Furthermore, she added, “The project aims to support collective efforts towards achieving a reduction in awaiting trial inmates for which more than 70 per cent of those in correctional facilities across Nigeria are awaiting trial.”
However, Bello pointed out that the court administration and case management project is aimed at improving capacity to reduce the challenges in the justice sector.
“The CACM project focuses on addressing the gaps in structures for case management in the courts which are weak or absent in some cases, and for which there are no document backup systems in place,” he stated.
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Metro / Crimes
How Qatar Escapes Danger as NDLEA Arrests Wanted Drug Baron, Others Linked to Failed Cocaine Exports to Saudi Arabia
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have said that its body has apprehended a wanted drug baron, Alhaji Suleiman Ganiu Aremu (a.k.a Barryshine), two years after he came under the radar of the anti-narcotics agency over his alleged role in four failed attempts to export cocaine to Saudi Arabia and Qatar through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos between 2022 and 2024.
The agency who disclosed this in a statement via its spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, on Friday, September 13, said that, the suspect is the Managing Director/CEO of Barryshine Suleiman Nigeria Ltd.
Shading more light to the case, the agency elucidated that, his name first featured on November 13, 2022, when a female passenger on a Qatar Airlines flight to Saudi Arabia, Alhaja Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika was arrested at the MMIA in possession of 400 grams of cocaine, which was concealed inside female footwear.
Furthermore, the agency claimed that, an investigation later revealed that one Abdullahi Olarenwaju Ramon, who is a brother to Suleiman hired the arrested drug courier as further facts emerged that the flight tickets and other travel expenses of the suspect were sourced by Alhaji Suleiman Ganiu Aremu.
Nevertheless, few days after the arrest of Ajisegiri Kehinde Sidika, another drug mule, identified as Lawal Lateef Oyenuga, was also arrested on November 24, 2022, with the same quantity of cocaine, 400 grams, concealed in male footwear while going to the same destination, Saudi Arabia.
Although, NDLEA noted that the suspect, Oyenuga confessed that one Wasiu Sanni Gbolahan (a.k.a Teacher) who was later arrested and convicted by the court, hired him for Suleiman.
The agency said “Lawal further alleged that Wasiu Gbolahan linked him up with the baron through one Igbono, who was later unveiled through investigation as Oluwafemi Akande Abidoye (a.k.a Igbono, Murphy, Femi Iwaya, Ade Iwaya, Baba Eje, and Ejeoto)”
Furthermore, While the investigation of the two cases subsisted and the manhunt for the baron was ongoing, two drug mules were arrested at the MMIA on June 21, 2024, on their way to Doha, Qatar.
“One of the suspects who was later identified as Aikhomoun Daniel (a.k.a Oladapo Olanrewaju) expelled in observation custody a total of 90 pellets of cocaine, weighing 1.022kg, which he ingested, while the second suspect, Ayigoro Waheed Omobolaji excreted 60 wraps of cocaine with a total weight of 662 grams.” the NDLEA said.
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