A female Tiktok user, Nwakaego Okoye, has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for defaming Nollywood actress, Eniola Badmus.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, gave the ruling on Wednesday.
The judge convicted Nwakaego after she pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of cyberstalking.
In a consideration that followed the convict’s remorse, Justice Oweibo, however, gave her an option of paying a fine of N150,000 in lieu of jail time.
According to the charge, Nwakaego and one Chimabia, who is now at large, conspired to commit the offence between December 2022 and July 2023, in Lagos.
It added that the offence contravened Sections 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(c) and 27 of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.
Okoye, who was arrested for making defamatory statements against actress Eniola Badmus, confessed that she defamed the actress because a friend, Fortune Ibe, promised to pay her N200,000.
Seen in a video clip apologising for her actions, Okoye said she needed the money to pay her house rent, adding that desperation pushed her into acting in such a manner.
Okoye said, “What happened was that a friend of mine, Fortune Ibe, said if I should come out and talk about Mrs Eniola Badmus, he was going to send me N200k because I told him about my rent.
“That was what prompted the video. I am so sorry; I just did that because I was desperate to pay my house rent. I just did it because of the money.”
Meanwhile, following Okoye’s arrest, Badmus rejected pleas to settle the matter out of court as she insisted on charging her for maligning her hard-earned reputation.
