Two journalists bag 3 months jail sentence over false publication

A Magistrate Court sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, has sentenced two online journalists, Gidado Shuaib and Olufemi Alfred to three months imprisonment over a false publication about an Agro-allied company based in the state

Gidado Shuaib and Olufemi Alfred who worked for News Digest, an online publication, were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and defamation by the court.

The convicts were arraigned in court in November 2019 arising from a publication titled “Inside a Kwara factory where Indian hemp is legalised” in the News Digest publication in 2018 edition.

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The offences charged under criminal conspiracy and defamations were contrary to sections 97 and 392 of the penal code law and punishable under the same sections of the law. The judgement was delivered on February 7.

Their arraignment followed a petition written against them by Hillcrest Agro- Allied Industries Limited located at Kilometre 4, Ajase -Ipo Road, Amberi village in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.

The prosecution alleged that the published article, according to the petitioner, portrayed the company which is into rice production as a place where Indian hemp is being smoked freely by workers.

Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries Limited had alleged that the article in the online publication had caused the company and the petitioner huge financial and reputational damages.

Their arraignment followed a petition written against them by Hillcrest Agro- Allied Industries Limited located at Kilometre 4, Ajase -Ipo Road, Amberi village in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.

The prosecution alleged that the published article, according to the petitioner, portrayed the company which is into rice production as a place where Indian hemp is being smoked freely by workers.

According to the petitioner, the publication had made the company to suffer huge financial loss adding that “as a result of the article published in the online publication (News Digest) in June 2018, the company was denied a loan facility to the tune of $10,000.000 (10 million Dollar) by the funding partner known as Arab group in the United Arab Emirate and equally lost a deposit sum of $250,000.00 (250,000 dollar.)”

Delivering judgement on the matter after about five years of legal battle, the magistrate, Mr A.S Muhammad said, “I have carefully considered the evidence of PW1 (Shakirat Yusuf) on the character of the convicts as well as considered the Allocutus made by learned counsel to the convicts and I have equally reflected on the provisions of sections 316 and 417 of the Kwara state administration of criminal justice law, 2018.

In compliance with the provisions under S.417 (2) (d) of the Kwara state ACJL, 2018, I shall not pass a maximum sentence on the convicts.