A 14-year-old minor (name
withheld), on Wednesday, in a video played during proceedings at an Ikeja
Special Offences Court said that Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James alias Baba
Ijesha, told her he was her boyfriend.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that the video was a taped recording of the child forensic interview
conducted on May 15 by Mrs Olabisi Ajayi-Kayode, a child expert and the
Executive Director of the Cece Yara Foundation.
The video was played during the
cross-examination of Ajayi-Kayode by the defence counsel. Mr Babatunde Ogala
(SAN).
The child, during the interview,
described the interaction she had with the 49-year-old embattled actor on April
19 when she met him at her foster mother’s home.
He was invited following
revelations that he had defiled her seven-years ago and unknown to him, a
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera had been set up in the home.
The minor in the interview said
when Baba Ijesha came into the home, he initially acted like he was having a
phone conversation and that the defendant began checking the apartment to know
whether anyone was home before he approached her.
“He said you’re a smart young
girl, my baby. Do you have a boyfriend? I said no and he said since you do not
have a boyfriend now that you’re much more mature, you’re now mine, I am your
boyfriend.
“He said I used to teach you some
things when you were small. I asked him what things so that I could record him
with my phone.
“My phone was under the throw
pillow because I thought he wanted to confess to what he did seven-years ago
but I was unable to record him.
“He said don’t you remember, me
and you used to play together, I used to teach you some things when you were
small. Me and you had a contract and I asked him what contract?
Baba Ijesha: How Princess was
able to recall defilement – Child expert tells court
“He asked me to sit on his legs
and I said no and he said you that when you were small you were not afraid. Now
you’re afraid,” the minor said in the interview.
The child told Ajayi-Kayode that
Baba Ijesha during the April 19 incident, began touching her sexually and he
had asked her to bring him some water.
“When I went to the kitchen he
also followed me and it was at this point that my mother and the other men
(CCTV company staff) came in,” she said.
Earlier, the minor narrated to
Ajayi-Kayode what transpired when the Nollywood actor allegedly defiled her
seven-years ago.
She said that the first incident
occurred when Baba Ijesha came to visit her sick foster mother when she was a
seven-year old. She said she was sitting on the carpet watching cartoons while
he sat on the couch.
She said the defendant asked her
to remove her underwear and that he brought out his private part and asked her
to wriggle her waist while sitting on his laps.
“My concentration was on the
cartoon I was watching, I couldn’t remember how long I was on his laps before I
felt some wetness.
“He cleaned himself with a
handkerchief and he asked me to clean myself up and I went to the bathroom to
clean myself up with a towel,” she said.
The minor said that the defendant
told her not to tell anyone about what transpired between them.
The child told Ajayi-Kayode that
next day, Baba Ijesha came to her home with some fruits for her foster mother
and she was asked to pick up the fruits from his car.
“The car was parked at a
T-junction and there was a wall and a gutter there and no one was on the other
side.
“The fruits were on the back seat
and he opened the door in front and asked me to take the fruits.
“When I stretched to pick the
fruits from the back seat, he put the car keys into my private part and at the
same time he was trying to kiss me.
“After this incident, I did not
see him again until seven-years later,” she said.
During the interview, the child
expert gave the minor a male and a female doll to depict how the defendant
allegedly molested her seven-years ago.
The child gave a demonstration of
how the molestation happened to the observation of Ajayi-Kayode.
The actor faces a six-count
charge bordering on indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted
sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo
adjourned the case until Oct. 21 for continuation of trial.
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