A Federal High Court in Lagos has remanded 35-year-old Ifeoma Nwafor at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre after she was arraigned over alleged cyberstalking of Mrs Folashade Okoya, the Managing Director of Eleganza Industrial City Limited and wife of billionaire businessman Razaq Okoya.
Nwafor was arraigned by the police on a three-count charge bordering on conspiracy and alleged cyberstalking. She pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
According to the prosecution, Nwafor and others who are still at large allegedly conspired in June 2026 to commit a felony in the Lekki-Epe area of Lagos. The police further alleged that she used several Instagram accounts to publish materials about Okoya which they described as “offensive, false, malicious and calculated.”
The prosecution alleged that the publications were intended to cause annoyance, injury, fear, intimidation, enmity or needless anxiety to Okoya. It also accused Nwafor of publishing photographs of the businesswoman alongside statements that allegedly encouraged mockery, ridicule, gossip, suspicion and scandal.
The Instagram accounts mentioned in the charges included @cutie_juis, @truestorieswithifeomafa and @truestorieswithifeomafans.
The police said the alleged offences contravened provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as well as Section 516 of the Criminal Code.
Court Grants ₦3m Bail
Following Nwafor’s plea, her lawyer, O.J. Aduwa, applied for bail, relying on Sections 35(4), 36(1) and 36(5) of the Nigerian Constitution.
Aduwa urged the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms and assured the judge that she would remain available throughout the trial.
The prosecution counsel, Stanley Nwafoaku of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Ikoyi, did not oppose the bail application, although he drew the court's attention to the nature of the alleged offences.
In his ruling, Justice Deinde Dipeolu granted Nwafor bail in the sum of ₦3 million, with two sureties in like sum.
The judge stipulated that the sureties must be residents within the court's jurisdiction, with one required to be a blood relative of the defendant.
They were also ordered to provide evidence of three years' tax payment, National Identification Numbers and photographs, as well as swear affidavits confirming compliance with the bail conditions.
Nwafor was also directed to sign an affidavit undertaking to make herself available whenever required for the trial.
However, because the bail conditions had not yet been perfected, Justice Dipeolu ordered that she remain at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre pending compliance.
Nwafor's Background
During proceedings, Nwafor told the court that she is from Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, although she was born in Lagos.
She said she attended Christian Council of Nigeria Primary School and Roxton International School, before obtaining her degree from Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu, Osun State.
The case, filed under Suit No. FHC/LAG/CR/819/2026, has been adjourned until November 8, 2026, for trial.
Nwafor remains presumed innocent unless and until the prosecution proves the allegations against her beyond reasonable doubt.
No comments:
Post a Comment