Lagos State police spokesperson SP Benjamin Hundeyin announced that a blogger named Stanley will face prosecution for allegedly defaming businessman Emeka Okonkwo, also known as E-Money, in an online video.
Hundeyin made this statement on Monday while presenting the suspect to the media at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja. He explained that the command received a petition from E-Money about the defamatory video, leading a specialized squad to investigate and arrest the 24-year-old suspect in Uromi, Edo.
"He will be prosecuted because his actions were criminal in nature. He allegedly defamed E-Money and will face legal consequences. We are not prosecuting him because of the personality involved, but because he committed a crime. E-Money followed the proper procedure by reporting the case to the police, which led to our investigation and the suspect’s arrest.
"If someone is defamed, merely discussing it on social media isn't enough. The correct step is to report it to any police division, area command, or police headquarters so we can take appropriate action," Hundeyin stated.
Hundeyin also warned social media users about the potential repercussions of their content, emphasizing that the police would take action if their content is found offensive by anyone. He noted that false information has serious consequences, and once a report is made, the police will bring the offender to justice.
Speaking to reporters, the suspect admitted to making the video to increase his page’s followers and acknowledged that the statements he made about E-Money were false.
"I made a video about E-Money and said many things that weren’t true, which led to my arrest. I claimed that E-Money was responsible for an incident involving Nollywood actor John Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope, and also alleged that E-Money was having an affair with Junior Pope’s wife. I have never met E-Money. Everything in that video was false.
"I made the video to boost my page’s traffic and didn’t realize it would go viral. I had no intention of tarnishing E-Money’s name. I now understand it was wrong of me to make that video," the suspect confessed.