Olanrewaju Omiyinka, aka Baba Ijesha who was arrested by the police for rape and molesting a minor, has been granted bail to be released from custody on Friday.
This was confirmed by orders given to the Lagos State Police Command, as a result of the ongoing strike by members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria.
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Although the case is still ongoing in court, a statement reveals that Baba Ijesha did not defile the victim, who reportedly confirmed the statement when questioned.
In a report by the Punch, a senior officer in the command stated that the JUSUN strike action had prevented courts from sitting, which means the Yoruba actor could not be in detention indefinitely without trial.
“So, can we continue to keep him when the offence is subject to bail and when there is no court sitting? That is against his fundamental human rights and the police do not work on sentiments. Directives have been given out for his release on bail.
He further stated that “there was no case of defilement, people are just talking out of sentiment. They are not talking from the point of law. We interviewed all parties involved in the case for three hours today (Wednesday).”
Adding that “the mother complained that her child was seven when she was defiled and the child pointed at Baba Ijesha. But the case was not reported until the girl was 14 and under the law, the case has become statute-barred.
“Regarding this new case, the CCTV footage has been assessed and nowhere was it captured that Baba Ijesha defiled her. The footage only showed him touching the victim’s body but it never showed him having any sexual intercourse with the girl. The girl also confirmed the same thing.”
“So, in law, it is a case of indecent assault and not sexual harassment, and it is open to bail,” he said.
“A test was recently done on the victim and it was discovered that she had penetration. Is it the penetration of seven years that is still evident now, and who penetrated her then? Is there any medical report linking the man (Omiyinka) to the crime?” he said.
“Investigation is still ongoing and we have instructed them to conduct a medical examination on the victim at a government recognised medical facility. We are not specialists in the field and we have also sought legal opinion from the Ministry of Justice.”
