Court grants Nnamdi Chude ₦10M bail over alleged cyberstalking

Court grants Nnamdi Chude ₦10M bail over alleged cyberstalking

Chude Nnamdi, a social media influencer, has been granted bail in the sum of ₦10 million by a Federal High Court over cyberstalking against Dr. Emeka Offor. Chude Nnamdi On Thursday, Nnamdi appeared before Justice Gladys Olotu and entered a plea of not guilty to a one-count charge of cyberstalking. The court also required Nnamdi to provide one surety who must either be a level 14 civil servant or a resident of the FCT with verified landed property. The Inspector-General of Police sued Nnamdi as the sole defendant in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/130/2023. According to the amended charge filed on April 17, the police alleged that on March 13, Chude Nnamdi knowingly and intentionally sent a message through a tweet from his Twitter handle “Chude” by means of a 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.”

Court grants Nnamdi Chude ₦10M bail for alleged cyberstalking

During the arraignment, the prosecuting counsel, Victor Okoye, informed the court that he had an amended charge to present. Okoye orally requested to substitute the initial charge, which was filed in March, with the present charge. However, Gabriel Chikwado-Eze, Nnamdi’s lawyer, opposed the request, stating that Okoye could not arraign Nnamdi with the fresh charge since they had not been served with the charge. Chikwado-Eze argued that Okoye could not amend a non-existent charge if the existing charge had not been served on them. Okoye disagreed, saying that Nnamdi had never been arraigned before. The court granted the application and Nnamdi pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge. The prosecutor requested that Nnamdi be remanded in prison pending the conclusion of the trial, but Chikwado-Eze objected on the ground that the offence was bailable under the law, and Nnamdi had not flouted his administrative bail conditions. Chikwado-Eze urged the court to grant Nnamdi bail, and the judge admitted Nnamdi to a ₦10 million bail with a surety who must depose to an affidavit of means. The judge adjourned the matter until May 17 for the trial.

“I was beaten to stupor” — Chude opens up following release

"I was beaten to stupor" — Chude opens up following release

Nnamdi Chude, an influencer who was arrested and held by the police at the Anambra State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka, shares his experience of being in custody for six days.

Defamation: "I was beaten to stupor" — Chude opens up following release

His detention followed a petition by Emeka Offor, an oil magnate and entrepreneur, who accused Chude of defaming his character. Chude was detained in various police facilities, including the CID in Awkuzu and the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja, before being released on Friday. He confirmed that his arrest was due to a tweet he had made on March 13, which Offor had found offensive. Chude’s Experience Following Release “Some officers from the Anambra State cybersecurity police unit picked me up in Onitsha during the elections on Saturday, and drove me to the defunct Awkuzu SARS (now Anambra CID) in Awka. “Immediately we got to Awkuzu SARS, I was thrown out of the vehicle boot; the officers beat me to a stupor before an officer pleaded on my behalf. The officer told them that he was informed that my case was a civil matter and not a criminal one. So, I was left alone, before the officer who pleaded on my behalf offered me a space to sleep at the counter instead of the inhumane police cell. “The next day, I was covertly transported by road to Enugu airport, where I was flown here (FCID, Abuja). My back, arm and shoulders are strained and bruised as a result of being thrown out of the vehicle boot and the beating by police officers in Awka. “When I got here (FCID, Abuja) I was informed that my arrest was ordered by the IG following a petition written to the police by Emeka Offor alleging defamation of his character. According to the petition, which was shown to me by the police, Mr Offor claimed that I defamed him in my March 13 tweet where I wrote that Tinubu called him to beg (Peter) Obi to accept the election result. When I got here, they were asking me to provide evidence to back my tweet but I couldn’t. “However, I was supposed to have been released earlier on Wednesday after my lawyer perfected my bail condition, which required a Level 16 civil servant to stand as surety for my release, but I was later informed that an executive order came from the IG asking the FCID to detain me further. I was asked to apologise to Mr Offor and I have apologised to him over the tweet.”