Iyabo Ojo is a popular Nollywood actress; her video rant against another fellow Nollywood actor has been trending.
The video followed after reports named Nollywood actor, Baba Ijesha, aka Olanrewaju Omiyinka as a sexual predator who had been arrested by the police for defiling a minor. Baba Ijesha was seen in a cctv footage sexually molesting a minor, the minor happened to be the daughter of Princess, a comedienne and close friend to Baba Ijesha.
Very typical. The sexual predator is more often than not, a familiar face.
Anyway, sympathizers went online to ask for evidence of rape; of particular note was another Nollywood actor, Yomi Fabiyi, in a video he posted, he asked that evidence be supplied to show that indeed, Baba Ijesha raped the said minor. Among other things, he said since the police was already involved, people should refrain from making malicious statements on the matter; this drew the ire of many and prompted Iyabo Ojo’s rage.
For context, let’s look at a google search on rate of sexual violence in Nigeria for last year as gleaned from Reliefweb, an online site supported by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
According to reliefweb report, “about 3 in 10 Nigerians (26 per cent) disclosed that they know someone who has been raped in the past and the rape victims were particularly minors and young adults aged between 1 – 15 years (72 per cent) and 16 – 25 years (24 per cent) respectively. This statistic implies that one in every three girls would have experienced at least one form of sexual abuse by the time they reach 25 years”.
This is just so nay sayers understand the urgency of Iyabo Ojo’s rage.
Fortunately… or not, Yomi Fabiyi is said to be a US Human Rights Ambassador; while it may be that Fabiyi did the video to sue for peace over the raging sexual abuse of a minor, many saw it as support for his friend Baba Ijesha, by asking to be supplied evidence on the case.
In it, he was reported to be telling people not to jump to conclusions, saying the evidence supporting the rape claim be made available online. Comments followed, like:
“Is there any evidence that Baba Ijesha raped the girl?”
“He didn’t even rape her, he just touched her, why is Iyabo Ojo making noise?”
Iyabo Ojo’s anger was targeted primarily at Yomi Fabiyi, and other rape apologists whose comments supported Yomi Fabiyi’s position.
I understand Iyabo Ojo’s anger and many have openly supported her rant.
You can never over-react in a rape case; like my friend pointed out on his Instagram handle on the matter: “What is a grown man doing touching a child’s body? What is he looking for? And how do you idiots define ‘defilement.’ Touching a girl or woman without her permission is a VIOLATION.”
That’s the lesson we ought to start learning in this part of the world, especially those demanding evidence of rape. Are they waiting to see Baba Ijesha actually perpetuate the rape before they believe the story?
Like a perverse generation, the people seeking evidence will not know it even if it sat on their faces!
What further evidence does the police need before they do the needful?
This kind of foolish talk is why rape and sexual assault victims remain silent. They fear they would never be believed; they fear they would be judged unfairly or made to feel responsible for the assault. So, they push down their fear and continue to live in pain.
Baba Ijesha is said to have been a friend of Princesses’ family for years, this is reason why he felt confident to continue the assault on the minor when the said minor was just 7 years old, he sexually assaulted her then…
Typical of sexual predators.
They are people you will never imagine can harm your children; they are people you trust your children’s care to and yet, they more often than not, they are very ones who betray your trust and those of your children.
The Baba Ijesha case was looking to be a case Nigerians would follow to a conclusive end, until reports emerged that the police planned to release Baba Ijesha soon because according to the report, the police claimed the Judiciary was on strike and they couldn’t keep Baba Ijesha indefinitely in jail, after all, there was no actual rape.
Huh?
What of sexual assault, isn’t that a crime too? In Lagos, especially with Gender Unit taking the front seat?
Hummn, anyway, I am grateful for the outcry that followed the planned release. The rage online made the police do a quick reverse. Now it’s a case of police interpreting the law; so now he is being held for sexual assault while being investigated for other sexual violation.
Ha!
How did we get here?
There are many rape apologists about; there are many still yet to be caught and exposed, there are many who harbour rapists and enjoy shaming the victims; there are many who do not want Baba Ijesha prosecuted because it means they too can get away when caught.
It is bad enough that some sick people still find rape jokes funny; I mean men who have daughters, men who have wives and sisters at home, find rape jokes raucous.
Shame.
I have only this to say, may these men be raped by homos! May they be violently and brutishly sodomised. Then maybe they will understand the trauma of sexual abuse.
To those women demanding evidence, may you have evidence when you are raped.
To Iyabo Ojo, I salute you sister! Like you said in that video, spend your vexation on them like money!