Wale Igbintade
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday convicted and sentenced social medial influencer, Okoye Blessing Nwakaego, to three years imprisonment for bullying a popular Nigerian actress, Eniola Badmus, on social media.
The court, however, gave her an option of N150, 000 fine.
Nwakaego, however, pleaded guilty to the two-count charge when it was read to her.
According to the charge, the convict and one Chimabia (now at large) were said to have in December 2022 to July 2023 in Lagos conspired to commit a felony to wit: cyberstalking, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 27 of the Cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention, ETC) Act 2015.
Blessing Nwakaego and Chimabia were also said to have knowingly caused the transmission of communication via TikTok, gossip mill tv, remedy blog and other social media networks, with her mobile line number: 09125225742, which is grossly offensive, false, and for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, needless anxiety to the prejudice of Eniola Badmus, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(c) of the Cybercrimes (prohibition prevention, ETC) Act, 2015.
Following the reading of the charge and Nwakaego’s plea of guilt, the prosecutor, Mr. Nosa Watson Uhumwangho, pleaded with the court to review the facts of the case.
Reviewing the fact of the case, the prosecutor told the court that Nwakaego in her confessional statement to the police said she made the video following the influence by a male friend.
“Blessing Nwakaego said a friend who claimed to know Eniola Badmus narrated the false story to her, and that she, in turn, narrated the story to a male friend, Chimabia (now at large), who asked her to do a video of the false storyline that Eniola Badmus specialises in introducing young Nigerian girls to men,” he said.
Nwakaego said after making the video, Chimabia gave her N200,000 and asked her to post it on her TikTok from where other platforms copied it.
Nosa said over three million viewers viewed the maligning video online.
He tendered the petition written by Eniola Badmus asking the police to investigate the matter and bring those behind the falsehood to book.
Blessing Nwakaego’s statement was also tendered and admitted in evidence.
The prosecutor then urged the court to convict the defendant as charged and pass an appropriate sentence.
However, counsel to the convict pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that the convict is a first-time offender, who did not waste the time of the court.
He also informed the court that the convict has been remorseful as she had already pulled down the offensive video and promised never to be involved in such an act.
After listening to the allocutus by the convict’s counsel, Justice Oweibo in his ruling, sentenced Okoye Blessing Nwakaego to three years imprisonment on the two-count charge or a fine of N150,000.
The charges read: “That you, Okoye Blessing Nwakaego ‘f’, and one Chimabia, now at large, between the month of December 2022 and July 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, did conspire with one Chimabia (surname unknown) to commit felony to wit: cyberstalking and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 of the Cybercrimes (prohibition, prevention, ETC) Act, 2015.
‘’That you, Okoye Blessing Nwakaego ‘f and one Chimabia now at large, between the month of December 2022 and July 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, did knowingly cause the transmission of a communication via TikTok, gossipmill TV, remedy blog and other social media networks, with your mobile line No. 09125225742 which is grossly offensive, false and for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and needless anxiety to the prejudice of one Eniola Badmus, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(c) of the Cybercrimes (prohibition prevention, ETC) Act, 2015.”
