Defamation: Court remands blogger’s accomplice

Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the prison remand of one Chris Nwandu for allegedly aiding a blogger, Seun Oloketuyi, who is facing charges of defamation and cybercrime.

 Oloketuyi was on August 25, 2015 arraigned on two counts for allegedlypublishing defamatory story on his blog, www.naijahottestgist.com, against the Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo.

 He was accused of publishing on his blog that Okonkwo had an extramarital affair with one Justina, a married woman working in the Marketing Department of Fidelity Bank.

Oloketuyi was alleged to have added in the publication that the affair between Okonkwo and Justina resulted in Justina’s husband, Ben, sending her out.

The blogger was alleged to have also published that Okonkwo had since sent Justina abroad for further studies and had taken over responsibility for Justina’s children.

His alleged accomplice, Nwandu, was on Thursday arraigned by the police for allegedly posting on his facebook page the story published by Oloketuyi, accompanied with some “purported” photographs of Okonkwo.

Like Oloketuyi, the police slammed two counts on Nwandu.

One of the counts read,”That you, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, acting in concert with one Seun Oloketuyi, on or about June 2015, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court did knowingly or intentionally sent a message and pictures by means of computer system on your face book page purporting to be that of one Nnamdi Okonkwo, the Managing Director /CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, which you know to be false, for the purpose of causing him annoyance, insult and ill will and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 24(1)(b) of the  Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention etc)  Act, 2015.”

The police prosecutor, Olakanmi Omisope, added that Nwandu is liable to punishment under Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation.

The offence is said to carry a maximum of three years imprisonment or a fine of N7m or both.

Nwandu, however, pleaded not guilty to the two counts, following which the prosecutor sought for a court order to remand him in prison custody.

“My Lord, in view of the plea of the accused person, we will be asking for an order remanding the accused in prison, while we also seek an adjournment for trial,” Omisope said.

Counsel for the accused, Mudasiru Arhai, said he would be applying for his bail.

The judge, however, ordered that Nwandu should be remanded in prison custody, while he adjourned till September 7, 2015 to take his application for bail.

Source: PUNCH