Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, has debunked reports claiming that actor Olanrewaju James, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, was released because he was acquitted by the Court of Appeal.
Pedro described the viral narrative as “false, misleading and irresponsible.”
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Pedro said his office became alarmed after actor Yomi Fabiyi posted that the appellate court had cleared Baba Ijesha of all charges, including sexual offences involving a minor, a claim later repeated by an online platform.
He said the statements were a distortion of court records and capable of misleading the public. According to him, the Appeal Court did not at any point exonerate the actor. “No such clearance occurred at any stage of the judicial process,” he said.
Pedro outlined the case history, noting that on July 14, 2022, the Lagos High Court convicted Baba Ijesha of sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child over incidents that happened in 2021, sentencing him to five and three years to run concurrently.
He said, “On June 28, 2024, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, delivered judgment on his appeal. While the court set aside convictions relating to alleged offences from 2013–2014, it upheld the conviction and sentence for the 2021 sexual assault charges.”
Pedro added that the convict’s further appeal to the Supreme Court was struck out on May 29, 2025, for incompetence, while a motion to file a fresh appeal was dismissed on October 9, 2025, leaving the Appeal Court judgment intact.
He explained that Baba Ijesha’s release was simply because he completed his jail term. “Mr. Olanrewaju James was not cleared,” Pedro stressed.
The Attorney-General warned Fabiyi and any platform spreading the claim to desist, adding that the state may initiate criminal proceedings for publication of false news under Section 39 of the Lagos Criminal Law.
