The Lagos State Sexual Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has watched the video of the 14-year-old girl allegedly defiled by Nollywood actor James Olanrewaju, popularly known as Baba Ijesha. The video was a taped recording of the child forensic interview conducted on May 15, 2021.
The interview was conducted by Mrs. Olabisi Ajayi-Kayode, a child expert and the Executive Director of the Cece Yara Foundation. The video showed the victim seated on a sofa and talking to the child expert, about how Baba Ijesha allegedly defiled her at her home and later inside his car. Mrs. Ajayi-Kayode could be seen in the video calming her, telling her to relax, and feel free to answer questions or decline to answer any question she didn’t feel comfortable with.
In her responses to questions asked by Mrs. Ajayi-Kayode, the victim said she likes to read novels, watch cartoons and movies.
She recalled that 7 years ago, Baba Ijesha was a regular visitor to her house.
On the day of the alleged crime, she said her mother was out of the house and she was home alone watching a cartoon when the defendant came in.
She gave a description of the position of the settee, the shelf, and carpets in the sitting room.
Using female and male dolls for narration, the survivor described where the defendant sat after which he invited her to sit on his laps. She also used the dolls to describe how she was defiled by the defendant.
According to her, the defendant brought out his manhood and made her sit on it and after some time, she felt his wetness.
After this, she said Baba Ijesha used a handkerchief to clean himself while she went to the bathroom and used water, soap, and a towel to clean herself.
