The police on Monday arraigned a blogger, Desmond Chima, for allegedly posting two offensive stories on the Internet against the Managing Director of United Bank for Africa, Philips Oduoza.
Chima was arraigned on two counts of cyber crime before Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court in Lagos.
The police accused the blogger of conniving with some persons still at large to post online a story titled “Randy UBA MD, Philips Oduoza in adultery mess, romances star acress, Genevieve Nnaji.”
The blogger was said to have also, sometime in March this year, posted a second story with the title “Randy UBA MD, Philips Oduoza’s’wife to divorce him over affairs with actress Genevieve.”
The prosecutor, Henry Obiazi, who pressed the charges against Chima on Monday, claimed that the blogger knew the stories to be false and posted them online for the purpose of annoying the bank MD and causing him ill will and needless anxiety.
Obiazi claimed that Chima violated the law and was bound to be punished under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2015.
One of the counts read, “That you, Desmond Ike Chima ‘m’ and others now at large, in March 2015, at Ojodu, Lagos, in the Lagos Judicial Division, intentionally sent or published an article by means of computer on the Internet entitled “Randy UBA MD, Philips Oduoza in adultery mess…romances star actress, Genevieve Nnaji…” for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to the said Philips Oduoza and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cyber crime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2015.”
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the two counts.
The prosecutor urged the court to make an order remanding the blogger in prison pending trial but the counsel for the accused, Nnamdi Mofunanya, orally applied for his bail.
The judge, however, refused the oral bail application and directed the defence lawyer to file a formal application for bail.
While adjourning till November 6, 2015 to hear the said bail application, Justice Yunusa, however, ordered the prison remand of the blogger.
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