Lagos State Ministry of Justice, has stalled any possibility of releasing Olanrewaju James, popularly known as, “Baba Ijesha” on bail.
According to its Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP, this is due to criminal charges Baba Ijesha had to answer to.
Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, made this known while speaking reporters at Oduduwa, GRA, Ikeja.
Adejobi said the DPP advised the police to still detain Baba Ijesha, because the case against him, according to legal advice, is sexual assault by penetration, pending when he would be charged to court.
In his words, invariably sexual assault is more like defilement too, considering the age of the victim, so, Baba Ijesha is being kept with the police not within our own power, but because of the legal advice from the DPP pending when Baba Ijesha’s case will be charged to court.
He says if the DPP has advised the police to release Baba Ijesha, he would have been released.
According to Adejobi, Baba Ijesha’s case was initially bailable, based on the statement that his offence was based on an indecent assault which was a bailable offence.
He however, says after the DPP investigated the case file, the police was advised not to release Baba Ijesha on bail pending when he will be charged to court.
According to him, the DPP said there are a number of cases Baba Ijesha will be charged for, particularly sexual assault by penetration, which is a serious offence.
Also, Adejobi said police cells were being managed and decongested to avoid overcrowding inmates.
He said most of the cases currently at their disposal were bailable offences and they had been bailed while unbailable cases that were not yet in court, were granted tentative bail.
In his words, by tentative bail, the offender goes home, only after providing a substantive surety that assures to produce the offender as and when due, so the cells are well managed and not congested.
He said several cases that make up offenders in police custody were pending cases attached to the court and still within the police facilities.
Adejobi noted that as a result of the Covid-19 test, the police could not take them to correctional centres, would be within the custody which makes up a number of cases they have now.