The first witness to testify in Yoruba, actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, alias Baba Ijesha, said on Thursday that the defense of the actor and the minor he allegedly raped were acting out a script.
The witness also claimed that some videos were edited.
Lawrence Ayeni, a Mechanical Engineering graduate who also has a background in video production as well as CCTV installation and maintenance, was the witness.
Mr. Ayeni told Judge Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Special and Sexual Offenses Court in Ikeja that one of the CCTV recordings of the alleged encounter was doctored at the time of editing the video.
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Among the four videos played in open court were Baba Ijesha and the 14-year-old girl at the home of her adoptive mother, comedian Damilola Adekoya alias Princess, recorded in April 2021 before her arrest.
They sat on a sofa for a while, then they both left. When they returned, Baba Ijesha offered her a cup to drink, kissed her hand and held her close to him. They spoke but their voices were inaudible.
The witness, who was led in his statement by co-leading defense attorney Babatunde Ogala, a senior Nigerian attorney, said the CCTV had no audio because a fiber camera was used.
He said, “The voices you hear are from those people who recorded the match, directed the script, and then edited the recording. Baba Ijesha is acting as requested by the director.
“The girl was often looking at the camera, so she was acting as she was told. At the time of copying the contents to a computer, errors could have been entered or manipulated by her.”
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The other videos seen were when Baba Ijesha was seen begging for forgiveness from the boy’s adoptive mother, Princess, when she approached him.
It was then that he was arrested and a statement was taken from him during detention.
But during a cross-examination led by the Director of the Lagos State Public Prosecution Office, Babajide Martins, the witness admitted that the CCTV footage cannot be manipulated at the time of recording.
The witness said that speculation about the manipulation of the recording or the use of various devices to record cannot change its content or what was said.
The additional hearing was set for March 4, 2022.
Background
The trial has been followed by several shocking revelations from forensic and medical reports made on the survivor and police reports.
Baba Ijesha was arrested on April 22 and later released on May 17.
He was charged with six counts of sexual assault by penetration, indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault, which contravenes sections 259, 135 and 261 of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2011, as well as 135, 263 and 262 Criminal. Lagos State Law 2015.