- The police spokesperson in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said a blogger identified as Stanley will be prosecuted for allegedly defaming businessman, Mr Emeka Okonkwo, AKA E-Money, in his online video.
- Hundeyin warned social media users against defamation with their contents, stressing that action may be taken against them if reports of their contents were found offensive by anyone.
- Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the parade, the suspect admitted making the said video to boost his page’s followership level.
A blogger named Stanley is set to face prosecution for allegedly defaming billionaire businessman Mr. Emeka Okonkwo, also known as E-money, in an online video.
Lagos State Police spokesperson SP Benjamin Hundeyin made this announcement on Monday during a press briefing at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja, where he revealed that the suspect was apprehended by a crack squad of the command following an investigation into a petition lodged by E-Money.
The police spokesperson emphasized that the reason for prosecuting the blogger was due to the criminal nature of his actions and the alleged defamation of E-Money, not because of the personality involved in the case.
He urged social media users to refrain from spreading harmful content and to report cases of defamation directly to the police for proper investigation and prosecution.
He said:
“He is going to be prosecuted because the things he engaged in were criminal in nature. He has allegedly defamed E-Money and he is going to be prosecuted.
“We are not prosecuting the suspect because of the personality involved, but because he has allegedly committed crime, the personality goes through the normal channel by reporting the case to the police and we investigated and arrested the suspect.
“If one is defamed and you only talk about it on social media, you have not reported the case yet to the Police, it doesn’t work that way. The best thing to do is report at any police division, area command or police headquarters, we will take it up”.
During the parade, the suspect confessed to creating the video in question solely to increase traffic to his page and admitted that the statements made about E-Money were entirely false.
He expressed regret for the repercussions of his actions and acknowledged that his intentions were not to tarnish E-Money’s reputation, but rather to attract more attention to his online platform.
He said:
“I did a video about E-Money. I said a lot of things that are not true in that video, that is why the police arrested me.
“I said something regarding a video I saw online about a woman – saying that Sir E-Money is responsible for the things that happened to Nollywood actor John Odonwodo, aka Junior Pope’s case.
“I said something like that, I also said that Sir E-Money was also having an affairs with Junior Pope’s wife. I have never in my life met E-Money. Everything I made in that video was not true.
“I made the video out of trying to boost my page traffic level, I never knew it will go viral the way it went. I don’t have bad intention to tarnish Sir E-Money’s name. I was just making the video, I didn’t know it will go such wide.
“I know the contents of the video were wrong of me to have made. I don’t know the video will escalate to that extent,” he said.
It serves as a reminder that sharing false information online can have serious consequences and that individuals should be mindful of the content they post on social media to avoid causing harm to others.