A Nigerian woman who posted an online evaluation of a tomato puree can faces jail time after the company’s manufacturer claims she made a “malicious allegation” that hurt the company’s sales.
A 39-year-old Lagosian entrepreneur named Chioma Okoli is being sued and prosecuted in a civil court for allegedly breaking cybercrime laws in her country. The case has created a stir in the West African nation and prompted protests from residents who feel that Okoli is being persecuted for exercising her right to free speech.
How did she say that? CNN said that Okoli, a small-scale children’s clothing importer, asked her 18,000 Facebook followers on September 17 what they thought of a tomato puree she had purchased instead of her typical brands because she thought it was too sweet.
One commenter said, “Stop spoiling my brother’s product,” in response to her post that included an image of an opened can of Nagiko Tomato Mix, which is made by the nearby company Erisco Foods Limited.
Use a different one instead of posting it on social media or calling customer support if you don’t like it. In response, Okoli said, “Help me tell your brother to stop ki***ing people with his product; I used it for the first time yesterday, and it’s just sugar.” On September 24, a week later, she was taken into custody.
The Nigeria Police Force said in court documents obtained by CNN that Okoli used her Facebook account “with the intention of inciting people against Erisco Foods.” The force also said in a statement on March 7 that it had “unearthed compelling evidence” against Okoli from its first inquiries.
Okoli was accused of “instigating Erisco Foods Limited, knowing the said information to be false under Section 24 (1) (B) of Nigeria’s Cyber Crime Prohibition Act,” according to the police.
Should she be found guilty, she can be sentenced to three years in prison, a fine of five million naira (about $5,000), or both.
Separate charges against Okoli included plotting with two other people “with the intention of inciting people against Erisco Foods Limited,” which, according to the charge sheet, was illegal under Section 27(1)(B) of the same act. If found guilty on this charge, she may face a seven-year prison term.
Erisco has filed a separate legal lawsuit against Okoli. The company said in a statement on January 19 that it was protecting its reputation after Okoli’s remarks “led several suppliers to decide to distance themselves from us.”
A civil case was filed against Okoli by the food company situated in Lagos, claiming that it also “suffered the loss of multiple credit lines” and that it was seeking damages in the amount of 5 billion naira, or more than $3 million. According to CNN, her attorney, Inibehe Effiong, this lawsuit is scheduled to be tried on May 20. Because the action is “pending in a court of competent jurisdiction,” an Erisco Foods representative, Nnamdi Nwokolo, told CNN the business would not be speaking further on the matter.
Need for a public apology The fourth kid is on the way, Okoli said to CNN that she was taken into custody in a filthy police cell by plainclothes officers in Lagos when she was attending church. Around six o’clock on September 24, I was placed in the cell. I stood the entire time until the following day since there were no chairs. The water—which entered from the leaky roof—was up to my legs. I would occasionally squat to lessen the strain on my legs. My thoughts turned to my at-home children.
I was chatting with myself. I would pray and thought that I was messed up,” she remarked. The next day, Okoli was transported by air to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, where she was detained at a police station until her release on administrative bail was completed the next day, according to her.
She said that one of the requirements for her release on bail was that she publicly apologize to Erisco; however, her attorney, Effiong, told CNN that she was coerced into doing so and that’s why she didn’t apologize after being freed. On October 5, the police presented their case before a judge in Abuja. On December 7, the court held its first hearing. Although her attorney was there, she did not attend in person.
In spite of a restraining order that a judge had granted on November 8 prohibiting her arrest without a court order, Okoli claimed CNN that a month later, on January 9, police broke into her Lagos house and tried to arrest her. A copy of the protective order was seen by CNN. They were housed in my building from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. That particular day, the cooking gas ran out, so neither my kids nor I could leave the house to obtain food,” she stated. She claimed that the police eventually left.
According to Olumuyiwa Adejobi, a spokesman for the national police, he was unable to comment on the issue because it was pending in court. When the court makes a decision, Adejobi stated, “We will comment on the case.” Effiong, the countersuit attorney for Okoli against the police and the food firm, told CNN that Okoli’s legal team was currently preparing for the two court cases, comparing them to a battle between David and Goliath. Effiong stated, “We think David is right in this instance and Goliath is wrong.”
He contested Okoli’s arrest and imprisonment in October, alleging that it breached her fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement, and filed a 500 million naira ($361,171) countersuit in a Lagos court against both Erisco and the police.
Effiong contended in court documents pertaining to the countersuit that his client’s arrest violated her fundamental right to free speech.
During the upcoming hearing on April 18, he stated that he will also request that the court in Abuja, where she is being tried for cybercrime crimes, move the case to Lagos, where she resides. Hard to prove Nigerian legal and public affairs analyst Kelechukwu Uzoka told CNN that there are limits to the freedom of speech defense. “No law guarantees absolute freedom,” he said. “While we have our freedom of expression, there are limitations.
You can’t defame or malign someone.” However, he added that “cybercrime is difficult to prove in court. You have to prove actual harm when the post was made. Erisco must prove that the Facebook post (by Okoli) affected its business as at the point it was made.” He noted that in Okoli’s post, she used a word with three asterisks, which could be open to interpretation. “Harassment and intimidation of Chioma Okoli must end now,” Amnesty International Nigeria said earlier this month, as Nigerians began crowdfunding online to support her legal fees. Okoli’s case has sparked protests at Erisco’s Lagos facility as many on social media called for a boycott of its products. The company’s founder, Eric Umeofia, refused to budge, however, saying in a recent documentary on the local Arise Television channel that he won’t drop the lawsuit against Okoli and that he would “rather die than allow someone to tarnish my image I worked 40 years to grow.”
