The Nigerian Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU)0, has filed fresh charges against four bloggers for allegedly cyber stalking Guaranty Trust Holding Company, it’s management and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
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The bloggers, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami were arraigned before Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos on a 10-count amended charge.
The defendants were initially arraigned on September 27, 2024, before the court on two counts of cyberstalking and false publications and spreading false information aimed at insulting the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC, Segun Agbaje.
After they took their pleas, Justice Ayokunle Faji ordered that they be remanded at the Correctional Centre.
However, when the case came up on Monday, the Police prosecutor Ajibola Aribisala (SAN), leading Olaotan Ajose-Adeogun (SAN), told the court that the charges against the defendants have been amended to 10 counts.
He informed the court that he got a fiat from the Inspector General of Police to prosecute the case.
Justice Faji, however, struck out the initial charges against them. Aribisala then urged the court to allow the fresh charges to be read to the defendants.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendants and others still at large conspired to commit the alleged offences. He said that the incident occurred sometime in August 2024, in Lagos State.
Aribisala told the court that the defendants conspired amongst themselves to cyberstalking and attempt to publish false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations which they all knew to be false, through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust holding company, its management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire banking system in Nigeria to cause a breakdown of law and order in the Nigerian banking system.
He said that the defendants published the false publications with the intention to use the allegations to cause harm to the reputation of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the entire Banking system in Nigeria.
The prosecutor further told the court that the defendants attempted to publish false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations against GTCO, its management, CBN, and the entire banking system in Nigeria to use the allegations to extort Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
Aribisala said that the defendants with intent to defraud concocted false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations through various social media outlets against GTCO, its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the entire banking system in Nigeria to use the allegations to affect the market value of the shares of GTCO, by causing them to lose value considerably.
According to the prosecutor, the offenses committed contravened Sections 27 (1) (a), (b),24 (1)(b), and 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended).
The offenses are punishable under Sections 422,507, and 408 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
Justice Faji ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Correctional Centre pending the filing and hearing of their bail applications.
Earlier, the defendants’s counsel, Olakunle Afolabi, told the court that he was objecting to the charge and that he needed time to go through the fresh amended charges.
He also gave a condition that if the defendants were arraigned on the fresh charges, he would apply for their bail orally, but the judge said he would not allow oral bail application.
Aribisala, in his response, said that he was concerned about the liberty of defendants as a human rights lawyer.
Consequently, Afolabi withdrew the objection, and the charge was read to the defendants.
The judge directed the prosecution to file the proof of evidence by the next adjourned date.
The case was adjourned till October 24, 2024, for the defence to file the bail application and serve the prosecution.
Some of the charges are: “That you, Precious Eze ‘M’, Olawale Rotimi ‘M’, Rowland Olonishuwa ‘M’, Seun Odunlami ‘M’, and others now at large, sometimes in August, 2024, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit a felony to wit: Cyber Stalking by conspiring and attempting to publish false, misleading and unsubstantiated allegations which you all know to be false, through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire Banking system in Nigeria with the intention to cause a breakdown of law and order in the Nigerian Banking system and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1) (a) and (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention,Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended)
“That you, Precious Eze ‘M’, Olawale Rotimi ‘M’, Rowland Olonishuwa ‘M’, Seun Odunlami ‘M’, and others now at large, sometimes in August,2024, in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did commit a felony to wit: Cyber Stalking by publishing false, misleading and unsubstantiated allegations which you all know to be false, through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire Banking system in Nigeria with the intention to cause a breakdown of law and order in the Nigerian banking system and thereby committed an Offence punishable under section 24 (1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended).
“That you, Precious Eze ‘M’ Olawale Rotimi ‘M’, Rowland Olonishuwa ‘M’ Seun Odunlami ‘M’, and others now at large, sometimes in August,2024,in Lagos and within the jurisdiction of the Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit a felony to wit: Cyber Stalking by conspiring and attempting to publish unsubstantiated allegations through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO),its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire Banking system in Nigeria with the intention to use the allegations to cause harm to the reputation of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire Banking system in Nigeria and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 27 (1) (a) and (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition,Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended).
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