A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out charges of cybercrime against a former governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo on Thursday struck out the charges after the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) applied to withdraw the charges.
A lawyer from the office of the AGF made an application to discontinue the charges, whereupon the court granted same and struck out the charges against Ohakim and associate, Chinedu Okpaleke.
The office of the AGF took over the case from the Nigeria Police following a petition by one Chinyere Amuchinwa (née Igwegbe) over alleged threats by Ohakim and Okpaleke to release her nude videos over a N500m land transaction.
The saga began in 2020 after Ohakim accused Amuchienwa of failing to account for his 2019 governorship campaign funds, which she countered by accusing him of land fraud located in Ikeja, Lagos.
The police in 2021 arrested and detained Amuchienwa following Ohakim’s allegation of blackmail and pointing a gun at him at an Asokoro hotel.
On Amuchienwa’s fresh complaint about imminent threats to upload her nude videos, the Legal/Prosecution Section of the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja filed criminal charges against Ohakim and Okpaleke accusing them of conspiracy to cause annoyance, criminal intimidation, and threat to upload nude pornographic videos of Amuchienwa.
The police charge reads, “That you Chinedu Okpaleke ‘m’, Dr Ikedi Ohakim ‘m’, and others now at large, on or about the 13th day of August 2020, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did, by means of computer system or network, send a nude picture, indecent obscene or menacing characters to one Chinyere Amuchienwa ‘f’ and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act 2015.”
The police said the alleged offences are punishable under Section 27(1)(a) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention etc) Act, 2005. section 140 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria, 1968
