On Tuesday, September 3, the Oyo State Police Command arraigned a 39-year-old man named Ganiyu Abiola before the Iyaganku Chief Magistrate Court for allegedly defaming a police officer via Facebook and WhatsApp.
Police prosecutor Inspector Sikiru Opaleye informed the court that the defendant committed the offenses on May 12, 2024, around 6:00 p.m. in the Egbeda area of Ibadan, the state capital. Opaleye stated that the defendant used his Facebook and WhatsApp accounts to post a claim that Inspector Folasade Adeoye had assisted someone in committing fraud, a assertion he allegedly knew to be false.
Opaleye further informed the court that the defendant acted in a manner likely to incite a breach of peace by disseminating false information about Adeoye.
The prosecutor stated that the alleged offenses violated Section 249 (d) and 375 of the Criminal Law of Oyo State, 2000. When the two counts concerning defamation and breach of peace were read to him, Ganiyu entered a plea of not guilty.
Chief Magistrate Olabisi Ogunkanmi subsequently granted him bail in the amount of N500,000, requiring two sureties in the same sum. As part of the bail conditions, the magistrate stipulated that one of the sureties must be affiliated with a human rights organization.
She ordered that the other surety must present proof of three years’ tax payments to the Oyo State Government.
Ogunkanmi then adjourned the case until November 19, 2024, for mention.
