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Appeal Court affirms five-year conviction of Baba Ijesha for sexual assault

Published

7 months ago

June 28, 2024

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Court of Appeal in Lagos on Friday affirmed the judgement of a Lagos State High Court, which sentenced Nollywood actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly called Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old minor.

The appellate court in its lead judgement delivered by Justice Folashade Ojo found the Appellant, Baba Ijesha, guilty on counts 4 and 5, where he was accused of indecently touching a minor and sexually assaulting her.

Other members of the panel, Justice Abdullahi Bayero and Justice Paul Bassi aligned themselves with the lead judgement.

The Lagos State Government arraigned Baba Ijesha on a six-count charge bordering on the indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault by penetration.

In her judgement, the trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo (rtd) of the Lagos State Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court, on July 14, 2022, sentenced Baba Ijesha to five years imprisonment over the sexual assault of the minor.

The court found Baba Ijesha guilty of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault, of a minor between 2013 and 2014, which is contrary to Section 135 of Lagos State Criminal Law 2015.

Justice Taiwo exonerated him of the offence of sexual assault by penetration which deals with allegedly sexually assaulting the minor by penetration with his car key seven years ago and attempted sexual assault by penetration during another encounter with the minor on April 22, 2021.

The judge held that the prosecution successfully proved counts two and three that he indecently placed the survivor on his lap and rubbed his penis on her body.

Dissatisfied, Baba Ijesha through his counsel Mr. Kayode Olabiran, approached the appeal court praying it to allow the appeal and set aside his conviction and sentence.

The Appellant argued that the prosecution failed to prove that he (Baba Ijesha) sexually assaulted the victim, contending that the appellant merely acted a script that he was invited to act.

He argued “The Appellant was set up. The Appellant is an actor. He acted in a script that he was invited to act by his colleague (PW1), Damilola Adekoya.”

Delivering judgment on the appeal, Justice Folashade Ojo set aside the appellant’s conviction on indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault of a minor which allegedly occurred between 2013 and 2014 describing the testimony of PW1 (Damilola Adekoya) as hearsay.

Justice Ojo, however, held that on the event that occurred on April 19, 2021, the evidence of PW1 (Damilola Adekoya) was an eyewitness account adding that this account remains credible and one of the most effective ways to establish commission of an offence.

Besides, the court held that the Appellant voluntarily confessed to the crime of the event of April 19, 2021, and did not challenge the statement of (PW1), Damilola Adekoya throughout the proceedings.

Justice Ojo noted that the appellant made the extra-judicial statement at Sabo Police station, Lagos State on the 19th of April 2021, and another statement at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti on the 28th of April 2021, which were tendered in evidence.

The court held that in the two statements, the appellant admitted that he indecently touched and indeed molested PW2 while she was alone with him in PW1’s (Damilola Adekoya) apartment.

Justice Ojo held “The law is certain that there is no other evidence other than admission in commission of an offence.

“From the totality of the evidence of PW2, it can be safely inferred that as at the date of the victim’s testimony, she was at best 15 years old and a child by virtue of Section 261 of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State, 2015.

“It is significant to note that the appellant did not challenge PW2’s on the evidence she gave. It is in view of all these that I hold that the prosecution established that PW2, the victim of the offence was a child at the time of the alleged offences in 2021.

“I have carefully looked at the record and unable to agree with the appellant, that he was merely acting a script. The interaction between PW2 and the appellant on the 19th of April, 2021was not a theatrical performance of make-believe but a personal encounter between the two of them.

“Moreover, PW2’s (victim) body language supported by her oral testimony and documentary evidence clearly shows that she attempted to distance herself from the appellant. The most inference to draw from from appellant’s action in searching the entire house immediately after PW1 left with her visitors and sexually assaulting PW2 is that he intended to commit the offence, and did commit the offence.

“It’s trite that factual findings of the trial court involving the credibility of witnesses are accorded almost respect. Trial courts have the advantage of first-time observation, which allows them to assess witnesses’ demeanour and manner of testifying during the trial.

“On the event of April 19, 2021, it is my firm belief that the evidence of PW1 does not amount to hearsay, she was an eye witness. My conclusion is that the evidence presented by the prosecution before the trial court on the offence of indecent treatment of a child, and sexual assault committed by the appellant on the 19th of April 2021 is compelling and sufficient to justify the appellant’s conviction.

“In conclusion, I have no hesitation in affirming the appellant’s conviction for the indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault. The appellant indecently touched PW2’s body in a sexual manner, in violation of Section 135 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015. His actions constitute sexual assault against PW2.

“I am of the view that the respondent discharged the burden of proving its case beyond reasonable doubt against the appellant on the allegations of April 19, 2021, and I so hold. I have no reason to interfere with the findings of the trial court on the events of April 19, 2021. In all, I hold that this appeal succeeds in part and it is accordingly allowed in part.”

The court ordered as follows “The appellant’s conviction and sentence to 5 years imprisonment for the offence of indecently touching of a child contrary to Section 135 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011 (count 2 of the charge) is set aside.

“The Appellant’s conviction of 3 years imprisonment for the offence of sexual assault of a child contrary to section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011 (count 3 of the charge) is set aside.

“I affirm the conviction and sentence of the appellant to 5 years imprisonment for the offence of indecent treatment of a child contrary to section 135 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2015 (count 4 of the charge)

“The appellant’s conviction and sentence to 3 years imprisonment for sexual assault contrary to section 263 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011 (count 5 of the information) is also affirmed. The sentences for counts 4 and 5 are to run concurrently.”

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FAAC: FG, States, LGs share N1.424 trillion December 2024 Revenue

Published

9 minutes ago

January 18, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The federation account allocation committee (FAAC) says it shared N1.42 trillion among the three tiers of government in December 2024, noting that Nigeria’s gross statutory revenue declined by 32 percent.

The allocation, which was from a gross total of N2.310 trillion, represents an increase of N300 billion compared to the N1.72 trillion distributed in November.

In a statement on Friday, the ministry of finance said the FAAC announced the disbursements at its December meeting in Abuja, chaired by Wale Edun, minister of finance.

The committee said from distributable amount inclusive of gross statutory revenue, value added tax (VAT), electronic money transfer levy (EMTL), and exchange difference (ED), the federal government received N451 billion, the states received N498 billion, local governments got N361 billion, while the oil producing states received N113.477 billion as derivation, (13 percent of mineral revenue).

FAAC added that the sum of N84.7 billion was given for the cost of collection, while N801 billion was allocated for transfers, intervention and refunds.

The communique also said the gross revenue available from the VAT for the month of December 2024, was N649.5 billion as against N628.9 billion distributed in the preceding month, resulting in an increase of N20.5 billion.

“From that amount, the sum of N25.982 billion was allocated for the cost of collection and the sum of N18.707 billion given for Transfers, Intervention and Refunds,” FAAC said.

“The remaining sum of N649.561 billion was distributed to the three tiers of government, of which the Federal Government got N90.731 billion, the States received N302.436 billion and Local Government Councils got N211.705 billion.”

The committee said gross statutory revenue of N1.22 billion received in December was lower than the N1.82 billion received in the previous month by N6.98 million or 32.9 percent.

“From the stated amount, the sum of N57.498 billion was allocated for the cost of collection and a total sum of N782.468 for Transfers, Intervention and Refunds,” the committee added.

“The remaining balance of N386.124 billion was distributed as follows to the three tiers of government: Federal Government got the sum of N167.690 billion, States received N85.055 billion, the sum of N65.574 billion was allocated to LGCs and N67.806 billion was given to Derivation Revenue (13% Mineral producing States).”

Also, N31.2 billion from EMTL was distributed to the federal government (N4.6 billion), states (N15.6 billio), and local governments (N10.9 billion), while N1.3 billion was allocated for the cost of collection.

In addition, the communique said N402.7 billion from exchange difference was shared with the federal government (N188 billion), states (N95.4 billion), and local governments (N73.5 billion).

The committee said N45.6 billion was given as 13 percent derivation funds.

FAAC said VAT and EMTL increased significantly, while oil and gas royalty, CET levies, excise duty, import duty, petroleum profit tax (PPT) and companies income tax (CIT) decreased considerably.

News

Federal Government to transfer N75,000 cash to 70m Nigerians

Published

12 minutes ago

January 18, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Federal Government has announced plans to distribute N75,000 cash transfers to an estimated 70 million ‘poorest of the poor’ Nigerians by 2025.

This was disclosed by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, during his appearance on The Morning Show on Arise Television on Wednesday.

Prof. Yilwatda revealed that the ministry aims to deploy the program across all 36 states of the federation by the end of January 2025, targeting the registration of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households through the National Identity Number (NIN) system.

“We want to deploy by the end of January across 36 states to ensure we start harvesting the NIN number of up to 18.1 million Nigerian households that we need to capture as fast as possible so that we can make payment for them,” the minister said.

“The target of the president is that we should target 15 million households. And an average household is about 4 to 5. We are discussing here roughly about 70 million households with about N75,000 per person this year,” the minister noted.

The initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address extreme poverty and create a more inclusive social safety net.

Yilwatda noted that each household in the program would have an average of 4 to 5 individuals, translating to a target of roughly 70 million individuals nationwide.

The program will also enhance the digital identities of low-income Nigerians by collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to increase NIN registrations. According to Yilwatda, this will help streamline the process and ensure the most vulnerable populations are included in the database.

“We are doing the data capturing, but for now, the poorest of the poor that we have in our data is only 1.4 million with NIN. We are working with NIMC, deploying resources, and conducting training. NIMC has brought in more devices under a program with the World Bank to assist us in data capturing for those without NIN numbers.”

The Minister detailed ongoing efforts, saying, “We are training in some states like Rivers, Kwara, Abuja, and Nasarawa, among others, and deploying to these states in the first round. By the end of January, we want to deploy across the 36 states to start capturing the NIN numbers of up to 18.1 million households. This will enable us to make payments to them for Conditional Cash Transfers.”

The minister emphasized the importance of leveraging technology to make the cash transfer program efficient, transparent, and accountable. He added that digital registration would reduce errors, improve tracking, and ensure that funds are disbursed to those most in need.

On January 12, 2024, President Bola Tinubu suspended all programs managed by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation due to allegations of misappropriation, including those under the direct cash transfer initiative.

Earlier, on January 8, 2024, President Tinubu had suspended Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, over allegations of funds mismanagement within NSIPA.

News

Commander Matuwo Olufokunbi becomes first Nigerian to qualify as Nuclear Engineer in US Navy

Published

17 minutes ago

January 18, 2025

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Commander Matuwo Olufokunbi of the United States Navy has made history as the first Nigerian-American to qualify as a nuclear engineer under the prestigious U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program.

This achievement also marks him as the third Nigerian-born officer to command a U.S. Navy warship.

Fellow Nigerian-born U.S. Navy officer Victor Agunbiade shared the news on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday. Expressing his joy, Agunbiade wrote, “I celebrate this rare milestone achievement, brother.”

He continued: “Big congratulations to my brother CDR Olufokunbi Matuwo—another Nigeria-born US Navy Commander takes the helm of USS OAK HILL (LSD 51). He is the third Nigeria-born to Command US Navy warship. Proud of you brother!!!

“This is an extraordinary milestone and chapter in your professional career brother! Wishing you the very best of this Command at Sea tour,” Agunbiade added.

Commander Matuwo I. Olufokunbi, United States Navy, becomes the Third Nigerian-American and First to Qualify as Nuclear Engineer under United States Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program takes Command of a U.S. Navy warship! I celebrate this rare milestone achievement brother! pic.twitter.com/6iYxTMWdGa

The USS Oak Hill (LSD 51) also confirmed Olufokunbi’s appointment as the new commanding officer in a statement released via Facebook on Thursday.

“Today, we bid farewell to CDR Jason Nowell as CDR Matuwo Olufokunbi assumed command of our Nation’s Protector. Please join us in welcoming CDR Olufokunbi to his new role and in thanking CDR Nowell for his steadfast leadership and unwavering dedication to the ship and her crew,” the statement read.

Olufokunbi’s Navy journey began in January 2001 when he enlisted as an Electronic Technician. He later joined the Seaman to Admiral Program and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University in May 2008.

He is a graduate of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, holds JPME Phase 1 qualifications, and has a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.

In his distinguished career ashore, Olufokunbi served as the Nuclear Programs Officer at Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, and as the Naval Surface Forces Expeditionary, Amphibious Warfare (AMW), and Mine Warfare (MIW) Warfighting Requirement and Assessment Lead at Commander, Naval Surface Forces, Atlantic.

His military accolades include the Navy Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy Achievement Medal (three awards), and numerous unit, campaign, and service awards.