The term defamation is used to define the injury that is caused to the reputation of a person in the estimation of the right thinking persons in the society generally either as to humiliate , ridicule or expose the individual to hatred and avoidance.
Cyber defamation is publishing a defamatory material against another person with the help of computer or internet.
The Cybercrime (Prevention, Prohibition etc) Act 2015 was brought into law to address crimes committed over the internet and ensure sanity in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) communications in Nigeria. The law seeks to punish the criminal activities of hackers, reduce incidences of internet fraud, protect intellectual property etc.
Defamation on cyberspace is one of those crimes which the law intends to punish. Recently, cases of defamation have been instituted against a number of people and organizations who allegedly published malicious stories online. One particular case of interest is the ongoing case of Seun Oloketuyi and Chris Nwandu.
Seun Oloketuyi, a blogger, was accused of publishing a story on his blog , that the Managing Director/CEO of a bank had an extramarital affair with a married woman working in the Marketing Department of the bank, as well as putting up the sordid details of the purported affair. Oloketuyi was accused of intentionally sending information by means of computer system or network against the banker which he knew to be false, for the purpose of causing him annoyance, insult and ill-will, an offence which is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (1) (b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act, 2015.
Section 24 (1)(b) provides that when a person spreads a message he knows to be false for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent; such person commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not more than N7, 000,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 3 years or to both fines and imprisonment.
Chris Nwandu is a social media commentator who allegedly shared Oloketuyi’s story on his Facebook page and made some inciting commentary. He was also arrested and charged for being an accomplice to Seun Oloketuy.
Now, one may ask a question such as; "what about my right to freedom of expression?" It should be duly noted that although Section 39(1) of the Nigerian Constitution gives every person who is her citizen the right to freedom of expression which might include freedom to hold opinion. It is important to note that such right comes to an end where the right of another is being infringed upon. For instance, one's right to freedom of speech ends where such speech becomes defamatory to a persons character.
In conclusion, it would be very important to note that or take to mind the fact that while trying as much to express our opinions, that such opinions should not seek to tarnish the image of others or by any way cause them embarrassment. Also, as relating to the above case, one has to extremely careful in the kind of posts he or she post on social media and also avoid copying and pasting of materials from unreliable sources. In defamatory cases,, until one is proven guilty, such an individual remains INNOCENT.
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