Nollywood actress, Damilola Adekanya popularly known as Princess on Monday narrated before an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, how a fellow nollywood star, Olanrewaju Omiyinka a.k.a Baba Ijesha sexually molested her underaged forster daughter.
Princess in the witness box told Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo her ordeal in the trial of Baba Ijesha on a five count charges of sexual molestation and defilement of a minor.
While being led in examination by LagosLagod State Director of Public Prosecution(DPP), Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi, Princess told the court how her foster child explained to her how she was defiled.
According to the witness, the child narrated to her what Baba Ijesha did to her seven years earlier: “Mummy, remember the day Mummy Ope came to our house and you saw her off to the bus stop. Uncle Lanre told me to come close and play with him. He asked me to put down my pant and he pull down his trouser. He then told me to twist my waist on him and something came out of him and poured on her”, Princess told the court.
The witness further said the child told her that when the defendant heard the sound of the gate of someone coming into the compound, he told her to go clean herself up in the bathroom while he cleaned himself up with a face towel.
She went to also narrate to the court how on another occasion according to the account of the child, how when asked to follow the actor to his car to get fruit while she bent down in front of him he used is car key to touch her private part
Upon hearing all the child told her, she contacted the defendant via Instagram by dropping a message that she would like to see him, which was fixed on 17th, creating the impression there was an acting job for him at her home.
On getting to the witness house, he was curious to see many people and he asked her having not known her to be an entertainer of crowd. She replied that “they were dstv people that came to check my dstv”.
Princess continued: “At the time he came in they haven’t tested the one (camera) at the kitchen. Since he was around they could not fix more cameras so I told him would like to see them off to the bus stop. It would not take up to 10 to 15 minutes to get back”.
The witness further said that it was when they were at the staircase she briefly explained to the cctv people the reason for fixing them and that if he the defendant would still carry out the same act again after seven years which one replied: “Once a predator always a predator” .
They(camera crew) also suggested that the police should be involved, which was why they (police) were called, according to the witness
The witness further stated “we were monitoring him on two phones. We could see how he was entering every room of the house to see if anyone was around and checking if there was any camera at any angle of the house”.
The witness continued that the accused also stood up to check the balcony to ensure we had left. “He also checked the stairs but could not see us because we had hidden ourselves at the second flight of the stairs”.
We saw him ” beckoning at my daughter removing his shoe and so many things happened on that video that I find it difficult to…”, she couldn’t complete her statement.
“He grabbed her and started licking her hands, licked her body, suck on her tomb, pressed her breast, touched her laps. I could even see her shaking at this point. He stood up, picked up his phone and grabbed her, stuck his tongue in her ears and started kissing her forcefully. She tried to push back against him he would laugh”
When the cctv guys forced their way into the house, according to witness the accused said “please sirs, am sorry”, not too long after, the police arrived at the scene, they learnt of what had happened and took him away to the police station.
During her examination in chief, the prosecutor sought to tender a compact disc containing the footage of the event but was opposed by defence counsel, Babatunde Ogala SAN, saying that proper evidence was led to ascertain been a primary evidence but rather it should be tagged secondary evidence and be rejected by the court.
Justice Taiwo in her ruling dismissed the argument of the defence counsel admitting the evidence.
However, the general public and journalists in court were ordered out when the disc was about to be played in open court because the victim in question is a minor.
The defendant is currently facing a six count charge of sexual assault by penetration, indecent treatment of a child and attempted sexual assault.
According to the State Prosecutor, the defendant committed the offence sometime between 2013-2014 and in April 19, 2021 around Joseph Harrison street and No 13 Wegbo street, Iyawa, Yaba, Lagos.
The matter adjourned to July 27 (tomorrow) for continuation of trial.
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