We need to tell ourselves some cold truth:
For those who may not know:
There’s a difference between “insult” and “defamation”. There’s a difference between “abuse” and “defamation”. There’s a difference between “trolling” and “defamation”.
Under nigerian laws,
It’s NOT a crime to insult, troll, mock, ridicule and abuse someone.
But under nigerian laws,
It is a crime to “defame” someone.
You can be arrested by the police and you can be charged to court for it. And if you lose, you can go to jail and become an ex-convict.
And under nigerian laws,
You can be sued in a civil court for damages if you defame or slander someone.
So in Nigeria;
Defamation is both a civil issue and a criminal offence.
The person who has been defamed has the right to pursue justice both through the civil courts and can also seek prosecution under the criminal courts.
Now whether the nigerian laws, as they are today, are fair or not is another conversation entirely. But as of today, those are the laws as it stands. And under the nigerian laws, you can be prosecuted by the court and if proven, you will be imprisoned for defamation.
Again,
Please know the difference between insults and defamation. Please know the difference between mockery and defamation. Please know the difference between abuse and defamation.
They are not the same.
If you have a verbal fight with someone online, you can get away with calling them “fool” “idiot” “useless” “stupid”, there’s no law criminalising that.
But the moment you say “murderer” “you were paid money for so so so” “they fly you to Dubai and pay you for sex” “kidnapper” etc etc; you cross the line from insult and trolling into defamation.
Defamation is essentially stating a lie (or saying a damaging comment that has no proof) with the intent to damage another person’s reputation.
And if what you state is NOT a fact that you can prove, then you have defamed that person and set yourself up for criminal prosecution in Nigeria.
If you live in Nigeria,
Or if you are citizen of Nigeria;
You are subject to nigerian law- no matter what you think of the laws.
Please don’t defame people.
Do not engage in defamation.
You will sleep in prison alone.
You will face the rigor of court alone.
You will have your life destroyed alone.
Nobody edging you on and telling you to “carry on” will be there when you are slammed with the law regarding your crime.
Defamation is not “cruise”.
Defamation is not “trolling”.
Defamation is actually a crime.
Clearly many people living in Nigeria yet using social media for daily discourse seem to be shockingly ignorant of this.
There’s a simple answer to this issue.
Do not defame people. Please just don’t do it. The repercussions are never worth the temporary retweets you will get.
To be clear:
Arresting anyone for insult, trolling, mockery or catching cruise is oppression. But reporting someone to the police in Nigeria for defamation is the law.
What we can insist and ensure is to tell the police not to brutalise the person and definitely not to hold the person beyond 48hours before charging them to court for their crime.
As I have said,
Please don’t defame people - thinking or hoping that they will not involve the police. Because they may, and they have a right under the law to do so.
What the police don’t have a right to do under nigerian law is to brutalise anyone who is being investigated for a crime (whether the crime is defamation or any other crime). And the police don’t have a right to hold anyone beyond 48hours before they charge them to court.
Anyway in conclusion,
Pls don’t defame people.
Think before you tweet. Think before you talk. Whatever you cannot prove, pls do not ever say it; and pls do not ever tweet it.
You can cause yourself serious criminal prosecution and land in prison if you are taken to court and lose the case.
I won’t tell you what to do.
I can’t tell you what to do.
Please do whatever you want.
But the law will definitely teach you what not to do.