Why Baba Ijesha Has Not Been Released From Police Custody – Lawyer

The lawyer to the Nigerian actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly
known as Baba Ijesha, Adesina Ogunlana has alleged that why the
Nollywood actor is still in the police custody despite a court
order granting him bail was because the officers of the Lagos State
Police Command demanded N500,000 to get him released.

Ogunlana who disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the
Punch said that two people are ready to stand as sureties for the
actor.

TheNigerialawyer had earlier reported that the actor was granted
bail by a magistrate on Monday despite the ongoing strike by
judiciary workers.

Reacting in a Facebook video, Ogunlana “There has been a lot of
intervention in this matter. When the news of his being granted
bail was broken, a lot of Nigerians reacted with joy and
excitement.

“The gentleman is innocent of all the charges, he was unjustly
detained in excess of time.

“The problem is not with the judiciary. The judiciary has been
proactive, in spite of the JUSUN strike, the judiciary decided to
move to where the victims are.

“I was there on Tuesday and the senior police officer was
hostile. I had an interesting interface with her. She led me to
where Baba Ijesha is and he looked depressed and almost lifeless.
He was just nodding his head and the senior police officer attacked
me for saying that he is lean.

“I said it was what I saw. She said that I have to work with a
particular lawyer. And I queried that. I cannot plead for what is
the right of our client. They termed that confrontational.

“I asked Ijesha where are your people? He said his phone is with
the senior officer and he could not reach them. I demanded the
phone and another drama began. She insisted that a particular
lawyer must represent Baba Ijesha.

“I told her that it is not acceptable. She did not allow us to
access anything and I left around 1 pm.

“Later, When my team got to the police officers’ office, issues
about money came up. They said the bail bond needs to be paid and
they had to check Baba Ijesha’s phone to know the amount he has.
The police said money has to be paid.

“Meanwhile, the sureties were ready and around. But they
insisted that bail has to be paid. I told them this is a bail bond,
not physical payment. I challenged the police to refute this.

“How can you be monetising bail? A burden that the magistrate
has not imposed. Don’t give the judiciary a bad name. There was no
demand for money by the magistrate. She never ordered that money
should be paid.”

On the disagreement between Baba Ijesha’s legal;l team, Ogunlana
complained that he was alleged of attempting to “steal glory”.

“Baba Ijesha has two sets of lawyers. The first set is the
conservative group, and the other one is led by me – we are radical
and confrontational.

“They said that our crusade is too strong for them and it is
antagonising the police. They said the police have been cooperating
since we came into the matter. I don’t know why they will say the
police are cooperating despite keeping him in detention for up to a
month.

“I had spoken with the colleague that the senior police officer
preferred to handle the case. While we were speaking, the issue of
someone planning to steal their glory came in. I wondered which
glory is being stolen.”

However, efforts to get a reaction from the Lagos State Police
Command on the allegation proved abortive as of the time of filing
this report.

The lawyer to the Nigerian actor, Olanrewaju James, popularly
known as Baba Ijesha, Adesina Ogunlana has alleged that why the
Nollywood actor is still in the police custody despite a court
order granting him bail was because the officers of the Lagos State
Police Command demanded N500,000 to get him released.

Ogunlana who disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with the
Punch said that two people are ready to stand as sureties for the
actor.

TheNigerialawyer had earlier reported that the actor was granted
bail by a magistrate on Monday despite the ongoing strike by
judiciary workers.

Reacting in a Facebook video, Ogunlana “There has been a lot of
intervention in this matter. When the news of his being granted
bail was broken, a lot of Nigerians reacted with joy and
excitement.

“The gentleman is innocent of all the charges, he was unjustly
detained in excess of time.

“The problem is not with the judiciary. The judiciary has been
proactive, in spite of the JUSUN strike, the judiciary decided to
move to where the victims are.

“I was there on Tuesday and the senior police officer was
hostile. I had an interesting interface with her. She led me to
where Baba Ijesha is and he looked depressed and almost lifeless.
He was just nodding his head and the senior police officer attacked
me for saying that he is lean.

“I said it was what I saw. She said that I have to work with a
particular lawyer. And I queried that. I cannot plead for what is
the right of our client. They termed that confrontational.

“I asked Ijesha where are your people? He said his phone is with
the senior officer and he could not reach them. I demanded the
phone and another drama began. She insisted that a particular
lawyer must represent Baba Ijesha.

“I told her that it is not acceptable. She did not allow us to
access anything and I left around 1 pm.

“Later, When my team got to the police officers’ office, issues
about money came up. They said the bail bond needs to be paid and
they had to check Baba Ijesha’s phone to know the amount he has.
The police said money has to be paid.

“Meanwhile, the sureties were ready and around. But they
insisted that bail has to be paid. I told them this is a bail bond,
not physical payment. I challenged the police to refute this.

“How can you be monetising bail? A burden that the magistrate
has not imposed. Don’t give the judiciary a bad name. There was no
demand for money by the magistrate. She never ordered that money
should be paid.”

On the disagreement between Baba Ijesha’s legal;l team, Ogunlana
complained that he was alleged of attempting to “steal glory”.

“Baba Ijesha has two sets of lawyers. The first set is the
conservative group, and the other one is led by me – we are radical
and confrontational.

“They said that our crusade is too strong for them and it is
antagonising the police. They said the police have been cooperating
since we came into the matter. I don’t know why they will say the
police are cooperating despite keeping him in detention for up to a
month.

“I had spoken with the colleague that the senior police officer
preferred to handle the case. While we were speaking, the issue of
someone planning to steal their glory came in. I wondered which
glory is being stolen.”

However, efforts to get a reaction from the Lagos State Police
Command on the allegation proved abortive as of the time of filing
this report.