Erisco: Police insist on prosecuting Chioma Okoli for violating Cybercrime Act

Nigerian police Thursday said it will prosecute Chioma Okoli, the social media influencer at the heart of Erisco Tomato saga, for violating the country’s cybercrime laws.

Okoli was accused of spreading misinformation about Erisco Foods Limited’s Nagiko tomato mix in a Facebook post last September.

Okoli claimed in a video posted on Facebook that the Erisco products she reviewed contain excessive sugar.

In the post, she urged other Facebook users to confirm if they had used the product before, apparently to ascertain if they had similar experiences.

Following a complaint from Erisco Foods, Okoli was arrested in Lagos, transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja and later released on bail.

However, Police spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on Thursday, said preliminary investigations revealed evidence linking Okoli to the alleged cybercrime

“The involvement of Mrs Chioma warrants scrutiny as she stands accused of violating some salient parts of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as preliminary investigations conducted have unearthed compelling evidence indicating Mrs Chioma’s alleged role in the violation of extant laws, particularly those related to the proper use of the cyberspace,” Adejobi said.

Adejobi urged Okoli to cease the continual jumping bail and turn up in court, as a neutral arbiter, to determine the matter, and allow justice to take its course.

He also urged social media users, particularly influencers, to “embrace the rule of law” and shun all display of sentiments in the case, noting that the police will not be deterred by the antics of certain individuals to pervert justice in any way.

“At this juncture, it is imperative to caution members of the public against spreading misinformation and attempting to manipulate public sentiment.

“The law operates impartially, and any attempt to subvert it will be met with the full force of legal action. The recent developments in the case are deeply worrisome, particularly the use of crowdfunding as a means to influence legal proceedings. Such actions undermine the integrity of the justice system and threaten the principles of fairness and accountability, as they are highly inimical to the existence of the rule of law.”