By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
Four journalists, Precious Eze, Olawale Rotimi, Rowland Olonishuwa, and Seun Odunlami, were on Monday re-arraigned by the Police before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on fresh charge of alleged cyberstalking and publishing false allegations through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
The defendants were docked on 10 counts charge bordering on conspiracy, cyberstalking, false and misleading publication, extortion, threat, and loss of shares and market value prefeterred against them by the Police.
They were initially arraigned on September 27, 2024, before the court on two counts of cyberstalking, false publications and spreading false information aimed at insulting the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company PLC, Segun Agbaje.
After pleading not guilty to the initial two counts charge preferred against them,
the trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji ordered that they be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre. The matter was adjourned to October 14 for hearing.
However, when the case came up on Monday October 14, the Police prosecutor Ajibola Aribisala (SAN), leading Olaotan Ajose-Adeogun (SAN), told the court that the charges against the defendants have been amended to 10 counts.
He said that he got a fiat from the Inspector General of Police to prosecute the case.
Justice Faji, however, struck out the initial two counts charge against the defendants
Aribisala then urged the court to allow the fresh charges to be read to the defendants.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendants and others still at large conspired to commit the alleged offences, adding that the incident occurred sometime in August 2024, in Lagos State.
According to the charge filed by Aribisala, the defendants conspired amongst themselves to cyberstalking and attempt to publish false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations which they all knew to be false, through various social media outlets against Guaranty Trust Holding Company, its management, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the entire Banking system in Nigeria to cause a breakdown of law and order in the Nigerian Banking system.
He submitted that the defendants published the false publications with the intention to use the allegations to cause harm to the reputation of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), its Management, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the entire Banking system in Nigeria.
The prosecutor further told the court that the defendants attempted to publish false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations against GTCO, its management, CBN, and the entire Banking system in Nigeria to use the allegations to extort Guaranty Trust Holding Company.
Aribisala said that the defendants with intent to defraud, concocted false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations through various social media outlets against GTCO, its management, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the entire Banking system in Nigeria to use the allegations to affect the market value of the shares of GTCO, by causing them to lose value considerably.
He said, besides, the defendants threatened to extort GTCO by concocting false, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations through various social media outlets against GTCO, to use the allegations to threaten and extort Guaranty Trust Holding Company and its management.
According to the charge filed by the prosecutor, the offenses allegedly committed by defendants contravened Sections 27 (1) (a), (b),24 (1)(b), and 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended).
The offenses are punishable under Sections 422, 507, and 408 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap. C 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended).
After listening to the fresh charge against them, the defendants pleaded not guilty to all the counts against them..
Justice Faji ordered that the defendants to be remanded at the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending the filing and hearing of their bail applications.
Earlier, the defendants’s counsel, Olakunle Afolabi, had told the court that he was objecting to the charge, adding that he needed time to go through the fresh amended charges.
He also gave a condition that if the defendants were arraigned on the fresh charges, he would apply for their bail orally, but the judge said he would not allow oral bail application.
Responding, Aribisala said that he was concerned about the liberty of defendants as a human rights lawyer.
Consequently, Afolabi withdrew the objection, and the charge was read to the defendants.
The judge directed the prosecution to file the proof of evidence by the next adjourned date.
The case was adjourned till October 24, 2024, for the defence to file the bail application and serve the prosecution.