The Federal Government has begun prosecuting blogger Ibezim Chike Victor, who accused former works and housing minister Babatunde Fashola of writing the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) judgements that dismissed petitions by the Labour Party (LP) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Vitor, who is said to be one of the three people named in the reports, was arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on six charges under case number FHC/ABJ/CR/434/2023.
He is accused of committing criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking, and slander.
The charges include the following: “That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit an illegal Act to wit: criminal conspiracy; when you jointly agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in your online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification, you thereby commit offence punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015
“That you Ibezim Chike Victor, male, with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about 05/08/2023 at Abuja, did commit illegal Act to wit: Cyber stalking against His Excellency Hon. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, CON, the immediate past Honourable minister for Works and Housing, false allegation through reportera.ng online news.
“That Nigeria Army takes siege of his Excellency Fashola’s Abuja residence, restrict movement to and fro the former Minister of Works and Housing, amidst the scare of a possible miscarriage of justice at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) and with Fashola’s rumoured involvement in drafting a controversial verdict to throw out the case of opposition parties LP and PDP.”
What you should know
In the charge, Ibezim with Jackson Udeh, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim and Reportera.ng (body corporate) now at large on or about Aug. 5, 2023, in Abuja, were alleged to have committed the offence.
They were alleged to have criminally conspired and jointly “agreed to publish a defamatory statement of false allegations in their online social media, the reportera.ng news, against His Excellency Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN, CON, without justification.”
The offence is said to be punishable under Section 27(1)(b) of the Cyber-crime Prohibition, Prevention Act 2015, among other counts.