Court sends Erisco tomato paste reviewer to prison over defamation

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has remanded Chioma Egodi in the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Suleja, Niger State, over the criminal defamation charges against Erisco Tomato Paste.

The presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, ordered the remand of the woman on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

Justice Lifu ordered Egodi’s remand after she pleaded not guilty to the two-count charges brought under the Cybercrime Act of 2015.

The judge, therefore, fixed Friday, May 31, for ruling on her bail application filed by Egodi’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong.

Effiong had tendered a medical report before the court, saying his client suffered a miscarriage as a result of the psychological trauma of the case.

However, prosecution counsel Abdulrashid Sidi prayed the court to refuse the bail application, noting that going by the history of the case, the defendant would likely jump bail.

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The lawyer informed the court that the defendant had failed to honour the terms of her initial administrative bail and would not comply if given a fresh one.

Unable to deliver the ruling on the spot, the judge shifted it to Friday while the main hearing would commence on June 13.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) had filed a two-count charge against Chioma, Happiness Obas, and Don Kashking, both said to be at large, on alleged conspiracy to send a message on Facebook through the handle Chioma Egodi Jnr, to instigate people against the tomato paste produced by Erisco Foods Limited.

According to the charge, the defendants knew the said “information to be false and with intent to cause annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to Erisco Foods Limited, the management and members of the family.”

The offences, according to the charge, are contrary to Section 27 (1) (b) and 24(1)(b) Cybercrime Prohibition Act.

The Star