Convicted actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, popularly known as Baba Ijesha, has described his time in prison as bitter, saying he was made a scapegoat and that prison is where prayers are answered most.
The actor made the remarks during an interview on Agabletu TV, in a video posted on a YouTube channel on Sunday.
Reflecting on life behind bars months after his release, Baba Ijesha warned young people to be careful in their dealings.
“Youth should be careful in their dealings. What you think may not lead to prison may land you in prison,” he said.
Asked about his experience, he replied: “Bitter.”
“Bitter because I was a scapegoat. Do you know, many want people to learn a lesson from celebrities,” he said.
He said he lived like an ordinary inmate despite his celebrity status, alleging that some warders are harsher than the police.
“Some warders are more wicked than police. Those offices are different. Some deal with criminals. They don’t know who a celebrity is. They don’t listen to the radio or pay attention to anything. You can see those kinds of people. If it is time to cry, you will cry, and if it is time to laugh, you will laugh,” he said.
Baba Ijesha said he was shocked to see well-to-do and powerful people, like ministers, treated in prison like commoners.
“Do you know what I mean? Some people may think that those who travel abroad are actually in prison,” he said.
“Let me shock you. I blocked someone after calling him many times, but he did not pick up. It was in my second month in prison; he told someone to call me. I was shocked,” he added.
He claimed that about 65 per cent of inmates are wrongly held, citing the case of an inmate he called “No Case.”
’When, how did it happen?’ Nigerians react to Baba Ijesha, CEO Luminee’s baby announcement
“There are about 65% there who are innocent. There is a guy there called No Case. Dear government, please. Some people are in Kirikiri Prison, some are in the Maximum Security Custodial Centre, and others are in Ikoyi. You need to hear their stories and see what they are going through,” he said.
“Some of you judges and lawyers. You need to listen to their stories and see what is happening. I was also working for my country. I went there to ensure that things are properly investigated and that certain issues are addressed to make things easier for you. There are many people in that situation,” he added.
He said prison is a place of intense prayer.
“Do you know that prison is where prayer [is] answered most? People are praying in prison. People will continue praying until they pick a stone and cut themselves until blood is coming out. The person will lick the blood and tell God, ‘If I am guilty of [the] offence I am here for, let this, and this happen to me.’ But if I don’t know anything about it…” he said.
He claimed that many sudden deaths are linked to the prayers and curses of inmates.
“Many sudden deaths are from prison, and they don’t use knives. It is the power of prayer,” he said.
“The person I called No Case. The person who put him there apologised before dying. And the No Case is still in prison,” he added.
He also warned people in positions of authority to be considerate.
“I am telling powerful people that when you put someone in a position of authority, and they become overwhelmed by power or encounter certain problems, whether legal issues or otherwise, there are things you need to reconsider. That is why I said leaders should be considerate,” he said.
In July 2022, a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja handed him concurrent sentences of five years and three years for sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child, arising from an incident in 2021.
The Lagos State Government later explained that he was not acquitted but was freed after completing his sentence. It added that the Court of Appeal had quashed some of the earlier convictions while affirming the sexual assault conviction, after which his name was entered on the state’s sex offenders’ register.
