EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian journalist charged with cybercrime spends three months in prison

A journalist in Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, has been remanded in prison for about three months now after the police arrested him over alleged cybercrime.

The police arrested the journalist, Koko Robson, in May, along with two others – Victor Akpan and Okon Ben.

Mr Robson writes for a local newspaper, The Waves, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

The three are accused of publishing materials on Facebook, accusing the village head of Ikot Ebidang in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Ukpe Alfred, of embezzling N45 million given to the village by an oil company, Sterling Global Ltd, according to court documents exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

The prosecution counsel, Japheth Japheth, from the police headquarters in the state, told the court that the publication was false and intended to cause “annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction to the peace the community” and to intimidate and caused “hatred and ill-will” against the village head.

The prosecution counsel has moved the case through three courtrooms – from a Magistrate Court in Uyo to a Federal High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, and then to a State High Court in Awa, Akwa Ibom.

The charge was later changed from cyberstalking to defamation of character, which the prosecution said is punishable under Section 332 of the Criminal Code CAP Vol 2 Laws of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria, 2022.

Messrs Robson, Akpan, and Ben were initially remanded in Uyo prison before they were moved to Eket prison.

Mr Robson’s lawyer, Assam Assam Jnr, could not be reached immediately for comment as he did not respond to calls from our reporter.

‘It’s against his fundamental rights.’

Some journalists in Uyo who commented on the matter said Mr Robson and others were only holding the village leadership to account, not cyberstalking, as the police claim.

The Chairperson of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Akwa Ibom, Amos Etuk, condemned the arrest and detention of the journalist. “It’s against his fundamental rights,” Mr Etuk told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

“We had reached out to every party concerned, including the village head, where we went to make an appeal because, by the time the issue had the attention of the State Council (of the NUJ), the case had already been ruled on for him to be remanded in prison. We appealed to the village head, who assured us that by the time we get to the next hearing, they would seek out of court settlement,” Mr Etuk said.

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“Unfortunately, there have been new twists and turns in the case which have left us bewildering. First, a suit was filed at the Federal High Court, Calabar. After that, the case was taken to Awa (in Onna). All these to prolong and frustrate getting him out on bail.

“Now, we have no other option than to draw global attention to this matter,” he said.