Comedian and actress Princess has launched a scathing attack on colleague Biola Adebayo over her interview with convicted actor Olanrewaju Omiyinka, known as Baba Ijesha, accusing her of insensitivity, wickedness and inflicting deliberate pain on the family of a child sexual assault victim.
Princess, whose foster daughter was the victim in the Baba Ijesha case, took to her Instagram page on Tuesday to condemn Adebayo in a lengthy video statement, questioning how a self-described rape survivor could give a platform to a convicted sex offender to cast aspersions on the victim’s family.
“You said you have also been a victim of rape. Would you, Biola, be confident if the person you claimed raped you — because I’m going to use ‘claim’ now — went on TV many years after assaulting you and starts casting aspersions on your family, saying Biola lied? How would you feel? Would you feel good?” Princess said.
She argued that Adebayo had acted purely out of self-interest, prioritising views and traffic to her platform over the welfare of a child victim and her family.
“Since it’s not you and it’s not your child, it’s okay. Since it’s for views and it’s for money, it’s okay. Since it’s something that will bring people to your page, to your channel, it’s okay. You didn’t stop to think that the child in question is the child of a colleague and an acquaintance,” she said.
Princess also disclosed that she and her family had faced sustained online harassment since Adebayo’s interview aired, saying the trolling, insults and threatening messages had been relentless.
“Since that video you did came out, people have continuously trolled, insulted me, sent me messages that I’ve just been blocking, blocking,” she said.
She further challenged Adebayo’s claim to the Christian faith, saying a genuine Christian would not seek to inflict pain on another person or their child.
“You are not a Christian, Biola. You are not a Christian, because if you were a Christian, you will not be looking for a way to cause pain and damage to a fellow human being, to a child. You will work, you will make your money, you will do your interviews, but you will know where to draw the line. Biola Adebayo, you are wicked and you are insensitive,” she said.
Princess insisted that Adebayo had no justification for uploading the interview, noting that she had her phone number and could have reached out before proceeding.
“Nobody puts a gun to your head that you should upload that video. You have my number. We have spoken on the phone. You have never for once…” she said, leaving the statement unfinished.
The outburst follows a wave of public criticism against Adebayo after she aired an episode of her podcast, Talk To B, featuring Baba Ijesha, in which the actor claimed he was set up in the case that led to his imprisonment and made references to the victim’s family.
Adebayo had on Tuesday responded to the backlash, saying she was merely performing her role as an interviewer and had asked the right questions. She apologised but maintained that the interview was not intended to exonerate the actor or undermine his conviction.
“I would never enable anybody. The interview was not to exonerate Baba Ijesha or to agree with whatever he was saying. I would never be an accomplice to a paedophile or a rapist,” she said.
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 and three years’ imprisonment, to run concurrently.
His name has since been added to the Lagos Sexual Offenders Register. Following his release, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice clarified that he was not acquitted of the offences.
