SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that the Nigeria Police Force rearrested the social media influencer and Labour Party supporter over alleged criminal defamation.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria's capital territory, has admitted a social media influencer, Chude Nnamdi, to bail in the sum of N10million for alleged cyberstalking.
The police had arraigned Nnamdi before Justice Gladys Olotu, on a one-count charge of cyberstalking in charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/130/2023, with Inspector-General of Police as complainant and Nnamdi as sole defendant.
When the charge was read to him, he pleaded not guilty. In admitting him on bail, Justice Olotu also ordered Nnamdi to produce one surety, who must be a level 14 civil servant or a resident of the FCT with verified landed property.
In the amended charge dated and filed on April 17, the police alleged that Nnamdi, on March 13 within the jurisdiction of the court did knowingly and intentionally send a message through a tweet from his Twitter handle “Chude” by means of computer system and network.
“That you know to be false for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to the person of Dr Emeka Offor and thereby commit cyberstalking punishable under Section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) ACT, 2015.”
Daily Trust reports that when the matter was called for arraignment, the prosecuting counsel, Victor Okoye, informed the court that he had an amended charge.
He was said to have made an oral application to substitute the initial charge filed in March with the present charge but Gabriel Chikwado-Eze, who appeared for Nnamdi opposed the request.
Chikwado-Eze argued that Okoye cannot arraign Nnamdi with the fresh charge, having not been served with the charge.
He argued in opposing the application that since the existing charge had not been served on them, Okoye cannot amend a non-existence charge.
Okoye disagreed with Chikwado-Eze on the ground that Nnamdi had never been arraigned before.
Justice Olotu then granted the application and Nnamdi, who was arraigned on one count, pleaded not guilty, and the prosecutor applied that he be remanded in prison pending the conclusion of the trial.
But Chikwado-Eze objected to the application on the ground that the offence, he was charged with, was a bailable offence under the law.
He also argued that Nnamdi had been on administrative bail for over a month and had not flouted the bail conditions.
The lawyer urged the court to grant him bail. The judge, who admitted Nnamdi to a N10 million bail with a surety, directed that the surety must be deposed to an affidavit of means and adjourned the matter until May 17 for trial.
SaharaReporters on Wednesday reported that the Nigeria Police Force rearrested the social media influencer and Labour Party supporter over alleged criminal defamation.
Chude’s rearrest was connected to a tweet on his Twitter handle in which he claimed that an Anambra businessman, Chief Emeka Offor, had been engaged by Nigeria’s 'president-elect' Bola Tinubu to beg Peter Obi to accept the outcome of the February 25 presidential election.
The police in March also arrested Chude but released him after one week in detention.
A police source had told SaharaReporters that following the allegation, the businessman, Offor sued Chude for alleged criminal defamation which has reportedly been found as a perfect ground to put him out of the social media space.
On Thursday morning, a human rights and pro-democracy group, Take It Back Movement (TIB) demanded for the immediate release of the Labour Party (LP) supporter calling on the police to stop abusing the institution of the state.
The group had argued that libel was not a criminal offence but a civil matter and that whoever felt defamed by Chude should seek redress in court and not resort to abuse of state institutions.
TIB asked the police force to stop making itself available as a tool in the hands of rich and connected men and women.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional court based in Abuja, Nigeria's capital territory had ruled in July 2020 that Cybercrime Act violates citizens’ right of expression and ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to repeal or amend the provision of the act.
Delivering the judgment of the three-man panel of the court, Justice Januaria Costa ordered the Nigerian government to make the law to align with its obligation under Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
A summary of the judgment released by the court’s media unit on Friday stated that the verdict “held the Nigerian government liable for the violation of the right to freedom of expression” with the enactment of section 24 of the Cybercrime Act, 2015.
The said section 24 of the law, criminalises sending from computer messages considered to be among others, “grossly offensive, pornographic or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character or causes any such message or matter to be so sent”, or that the person “knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent."
A civil society group, Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative, had through its counsel Mr Chukwudi Ajaegbo, filed the suit marked application ECW/CCJ/APP/53/18 on November 6, 2018, claiming among others, that its members’ freedom of expression on the internet or in the use of computer devices was limited/breached by Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act enacted by the Nigerian government.
The plaintiff further claimed that nine of its partners were arrested and detained in connection with the enforcement of the provision of Section 24 of the Cybercrime Act in violation of Articles 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and 39 of Nigeria’s Constitution.
Also the ECOWAS Court in a suit brought by SERAP, ruled that Section 24 of Nigeria's Cybercrime Act is vague, arbitrary, and unlawful. It insisted that, "it is contrary to the rule of law for the police to charge anyone with supposed 'cyberstalking'."
A civic group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had on April 2, 2023, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately implement the judgment of the ECOWAS Court that prohibited the prosecutions of anyone on the grounds of cyber-stalking.