Veteran actor and president of the Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (ANTP) Adewale Elesho has appealed to comedienne Princess to forgive Baba Ijesha for allegedly defiling her 14-year-old foster child.
The comic actor made the plea in a video shared by another actor Yomi Fabiyi on Tuesday.
Baba Ijesha was arrested in April after he was caught on CCTV sexually assaulting the teenage girl kept in Princess’ care.
Shortly after the arrest, the Theatre Arts and Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (TAMPPAN) led by Bolaji Amusan, alias Mr. Latin, issued a statement condemning the accused comedian.
Mr Latin also appeared in a video in which he disclosed that Baba Ijesha was not a member of TAMPPAN.
In a move radically different from his colleague in TAMPPAN, Adewale Elesho said he cannot disown Baba Ijesha in spite of the grave allegation against him.
Taking a thinly veiled dig at Latin, the ANTP president said “forget about association; get your colleague out of trouble.”
He also called on the biological parents of the assaulted girl, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the police to forgive Baba Ijesha.
Elesho even hinted that there may be more between Princess and the accused and that the police should investigate all that is hidden from the public.
Meanwhile, the embattled comedian is still in detention three days after he was granted bail on health grounds by Chief Magistrate Oluwatoyin Oghre.
He is yet to meet his bail conditions which are two reliable sureties – one of whom must be a level-10 civil servant and the other a direct blood relation – and N500,000 bond.
