Five social media users have been called by the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone 2, for their role in the defamation of gospel artist Mercy Chinwo and her husband, Blessed Uzochikwa.
Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna instructed the five defendants to appear in person before the court on April 23, 2023, to respond to the allegations brought against them by the complainants, as stated in the court summons dated April 3, 2024.
Blessed Uzochikwa and Mercy Chinwo are the complainants in this case, and Okoronkwo Ejike, Kingsley Ibeh, DJ Spoiltkid, Terrence Ekot, and Samuel Agozie are the five defendants.
When the gospel singer and her husband shared a photo of their son on Instagram last week, the defendants’ posts were the cause of the lawsuit.
Following the baby’s photo being posted online, the defendants made a widely shared claim that they were the baby’s father and claimed that the child resembled another gospel musician, Nathaniel Bassey.
Mercy Chinwo and her husband filed a criminal complaint, claiming that the defendants had engaged in cyberstalking, injurious untruth, and intimidation directed at them, under the direction of Pelumi Olajengbesi of the Abuja-based legal firm Law Corridor.
The complainants claimed that the defendants’ purported conduct violated Sections 24 (1)(B) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015 and Section 391 of the Penal Code.
The five defendants were then instructed by Magistrate Emmanuel Iyanna to come before the court on April 23, 2024, to respond to the allegations.
