Nollywood actress and podcaster Biola Adebayo has apologised following backlash over her recent interview with convicted actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, popularly known as Baba Ijesha.
In a video shared on her Instagram page on Tuesday, Adebayo explained that she was merely performing her role as an interviewer and did not intend to condone or exonerate the actor.
“What happened is when Baba Ijesha just came back from prison, he told me he was back and I asked him, ‘ Do you want to do an interview to apologise? Or to clear the air so that you can continue your life. And he said no, that he wasn’t ready.
“I thought he would apologise, but he did not do so. But it is not in my place to condemn him as an interviewer. The platform is for the good and the bad. It’s for both saints and sinners,” she said.
Adebayo, who identified herself as a mother, a Christian, and a survivor of sexual assault, stressed that the interview was not meant to undermine the conviction of Baba Ijesha or dismiss the crime he was found guilty of.
“I asked the right questions from him, which I thought that was the job of an interviewer. I would never enable anybody. The interview was not to exonerate Baba Ijesha or to agree with whatever he was saying. Go and watch the video very well.
“I would never be an accomplice to a paedophile or a rapist. I protect the girl child. I protect children with the best of my ability,” the actress said.
She also addressed claims that the interview was intended to target actress Iyabo Ojo, whose children Baba Ijesha had previously mentioned in the interview.
“A lot of people are insinuating that the video is to tarnish Iyabo Ojo’s image. I would never do that. I left it because I felt he wasn’t saying anything bad about her.
“Please forgive me. I am not here to justify anything. I am a very peaceful person. I don’t like controversies,” Adebayo said
The interview, aired on her show Talk To B, has sparked widespread online criticism after Baba Ijesha claimed he was set up in the sexual assault case that led to his imprisonment and revisited his past relationship with Iyabo Ojo.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that Baba Ijesha was convicted by a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja in July 2022 for sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child, and sentenced to five years and three years’ imprisonment, to run concurrently.
Following his release, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice clarified that he was not acquitted of the offences. His name has also been added to Lagos Sexual Offenders Register.
