A social media user of TikTok, Nwakaego Okoye, has been sentenced to three years in jail for defaming popular Nigerian actress, Eniola Badmus.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday.
The judge convicted Okoye on two counts of cyberstalking, but in light of her remorse, he offered her an option to pay a fine of N150,000 instead of serving time behind bars.
The charge against Nwakaego Okoye and her accomplice, Chimabia (who is currently at large), stated that they conspired to commit the offence between December 2022 and July 2023 in Lagos.
The acts were in violation of Sections 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(c) and 27 of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.
In her social media posts, Okoye labeled the actress as a ‘pimp’ and further alleged that Eniola Badmus attempted to entice her friend into engaging in inappropriate activities with a man for financial gain.
However, the actress promptly reported the case to the police, leading to Okoye’s arrest.
During interrogation, Okoye confessed to defaming the actress, stating that her friend, Fortune Ibe, had promised to pay her N200,000 for the act.
In a video clip, Okoye issued an apology for her actions, revealing that desperation to pay her house rent had driven her to engage in such misconduct.
She tearfully admitted, “I am so sorry; I just did that because I was desperate to pay my house rent. I just did it because of the money.”
