Juliana Francis
The Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi said that the Police have arrested one Chike Ibezim for cyberstalking and cyberbullying a former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
According to Adejobi, the suspect, Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim, shared a report on his X platform, formerly known as Twitter, alleging the former governor was involved in a controversial matter.
Adejobi said: “Following a report from Priory Terrace Solicitors on behalf of Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, CON, against one Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim, Police Investigators from the Force Intelligence Bureau carried out intensive investigations into the complaint and discovered that the suspect made a false publication on his handle – @ReporteraNews on the social media platform ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter on Saturday 5th August 2023, alleging that the complainant was involved in the drafting of a controversial verdict in the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and that the military has been deployed to his residence to restrict movement thereby intending to cast aspersion on the person of the former Minister, contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015, which has the potential to cause harm, distress, and damage to his reputation, as well as posing great threats to national security and stability of our dear country.
“Further investigations with technical and tactical analysis into the phone number used for making the publication in question, it was discovered that it is registered to one Chike Ibezim.
“Armed with this intelligence, police investigators proceeded to the office address of the suspect in Maitama, Abuja, where Chike Ibezim was arrested, while Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim, and one Tope who it was alleged to handle all social media correspondences are currently at large and have not honoured all invitations by the Nigeria Police Force.
“In this wise, the Nigeria Police Force wishes to state clearly that our radar is on other individuals who are involved in this case and others alike for possible arrest and prosecution. The NPF thereby warns that cyberstalking and other cyber-related unguarded utterances are criminal and capable of heating up the polity and causing chaos. This new trend of cyberstalking and a massive spread of fake news should be discouraged in all manners for our collective sake, and the sake of our dear country.”
