Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted blogger Adewale Ajimisogbe on charges of cyberbullying and defamation against Dr. Daniel Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
Ajimisogbe opted for a plea bargain after facing a 12-count charge alongside Ayotunde Richards, a former member of MFM.
The pair were arraigned on March 20, 2024, on joint allegations of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and defamation, while Ajimisogbe faced nine additional counts of libel.
According to police prosecutor Nosa Uhumwangho, the alleged offences took place between December 2023 and February 2024. Ajimisogbe, via his blogging platform “Postreporters,” published a story titled, “He is a criminal and behind all illegal acts – Ex-MFM Church singer sues founder Daniel Olukoya and others, seeks N15.5 billion in damages for illegal detention and breach of human rights.”
Uhumwangho argued that Ajimisogbe’s actions contravened Sections 27 and 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(i) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, under which he was charged.
Initially, both defendants pleaded not guilty. However, Ajimisogbe later changed his plea after assessing the weight of the evidence against him.
As stipulated in the plea bargain, Ajimisogbe agreed to publicly apologise, publish a retraction of his statements, and pay a forfeiture sum of N50,000 to the federal government upon pleading guilty.
His lawyer, Ife Ajayi, appealed to the court to accept the agreement, highlighting that Ajimisogbe had no prior criminal history and had shown genuine remorse.
“He regards the nominal complainant as a father figure,” Ajayi said, noting his client’s promise never to engage in such conduct again.
No objections were raised by the prosecutor, the counsel for the second defendant, Ademola Adewale, or the complainant’s lawyer, Adegboye.
Following the submissions, Justice Lewis-Allagoa ruled, “After careful consideration of the application and the submissions from counsel, the plea bargain agreement is hereby granted. The first defendant is to forfeit N50,000 to the state.
“That the matter is further adjourned to June 3, 2025 for the trial of the second defendant,” the judge held.
