Baba Ijesha, the Nollywood actor, has disclosed that two clerics allegedly warned him about impending legal troubles involving women before the incident that led to his conviction and imprisonment. The actor shared this account during an interview with Dele Adeyanju on Agabletu TV, which was published on the television station's YouTube channel on Sunday.
According to Baba Ijesha, Prophetess Abimbola Ajayi, founder of Love of Christ Generation Church (Cherubim and Seraphim), and Pastor Israel Ogundipe, popularly known as Genesis, founder and spiritual leader of Genesis Global Ministry, separately cautioned him about possible problems but he failed to act on their warnings.
Recounting his encounter with Ajayi, the actor said the warning came during a visit to her church in the United Kingdom, where he had travelled for shows. He explained that he was preparing to board a train when his promoter persuaded him to attend a church programme. During the visit, Ajayi requested to speak with him and reportedly warned him about a potential legal crisis.
"The Spirit of God told me to warn you about women," he recalled her saying.
"She said the Spirit of God told her that I should beware of a short, dark- complexioned person. She said I would run into trouble and face legal issues, and that I should pray hard so that a lie that looks like the truth would not happen to me," he added.
According to Baba Ijesha, he was taken aback by the prediction and asked the prophetess what he could do to avert the situation. He said Ajayi advised him to rely on prayers and promised to involve church elders in praying for him if he visited her church after returning to Nigeria.
"She said they could not do anything about it, that it was only prayers. She said the only thing we could do was for me to go to her church so she could get the elders to pray over those things," he said.
However, the actor admitted that he did not act on the advice after returning to Nigeria, although he later made efforts to reach the cleric.
He also recalled an encounter with Ogundipe, whom he described as a cleric who had shown him affection and concern. Baba Ijesha said the pastor appeared to recognise something about his situation during their meeting at the evangelist's residence.
"We went to the evangelist's house. Immediately, he came; he looked at me and called my name. He lay down and asked me to pass him. He mentioned a name and asked who the person was among my girlfriends. But I could not think of any name," he said.
The actor claimed that, following the incident that resulted in his imprisonment, he began to understand the pastor's earlier remarks, alleging that the description given during their encounter corresponded with someone linked to the controversy.
He subsequently praised Ogundipe, describing him as a genuine man of God who received divine messages.
"If you see real prophets, prophets who are sent by God, you will understand," he said.
Baba Ijesha's account comes against the backdrop of his conviction over the sexual assault and indecent treatment of a child in connection with a 2021 incident. A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja found him guilty in July 2022 and handed him separate prison terms of five years and three years for the offences. The court ordered that both sentences run concurrently.
His release from prison later generated controversy, prompting the Lagos State Government to clarify that he was neither acquitted nor cleared of the offences but had been released after completing his prison sentence.