Following the court ruling that sentenced Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju Omiyinka, popularly known as Baba Ijesha to 16 years imprisonment for sexual assault and indecent treatment of a minor on Thursday, some Nigerians on Friday took to social media platforms to condemn Yomi Fabiyi for standing with Baba Ijesha until he was sentenced to jail.
Shortly after the judgment delivered by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, reactions flooded Twitter and other platforms as Nigerians berated Fabiyi, saying he was wrong to have insisted that the jailed comic actor was innocent of the charges preferred against him.
While they commended Iyabo Ojo for standing with comedienne, Princess, whose 14-year-old minor was said to have been assaulted by Baba Ijesha, they asked Fabiyi and other key actors in the Yoruba movie industry who tried to silence Princess and Iyabo to bury their heads in shame now that the court had ruled that the suspect was guilty of assaulting the young girl.
Baba Ijesha pleaded not guilty to all the counts. However, a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) video recording detailing his relationship with the victim said to be a minor, was played in court.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Taiwo said that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of all the charges against him.
However, she found the defendant guilty of four of the six counts against him.
Fabiyi who stormed the court venue on Thursday looked distraught as he insisted that Ijesha has the right to appeal the judgment, saying those who called him names were being ignorant of the law.
Speaking after the court verdict, Fabiyi on his Instagram page said Baba Ijesha has the right to appeal the judgment after he pleaded not guilty.
According to him, despite his support for Baba Ijesha, he is against the abuse of children and will never support such, adding that parents of such abused children should be equally punished for parental negligence.
He wrote, “Baba Ijesha was not found guilty of the defilement (rape) with car key as charged (1&6) for lack of evidence, which he still denied committing, but has been found guilty of few other charges bordering on sexual assault.”
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