A Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan has sentenced an employee of the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Taiwo Abraham to two months imprisonment for defamation of the institute’s former Director- General, Prof. Olushola Adepoju.
It would be recalled that Abraham was arraigned on a three-count charge of conspiracy, breach of public peace and publishing defamatory materials against Adepoju.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Senior Magistrate T. B. Oyekanmi said the prosecution counsel had discharged the burden of prove in all the allegations levelled against the convict.
The magistrate consequently found Abraham guilty as charged.
“Having found him guilty of the charges, the defendant is hereby convicted,” she said.
Oyekanmi sentenced the convict to two months imprisonment or two weeks community service for each of the offences of defamation, breach of public peace and conspiracy.
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“The defendant is sentence to two months imprisonment or two weeks community service for offence of defamation, two months imprisonment or two weeks community service for offence of breach of public peace.
“The defendant is also sentenced to two months imprisonment for offence of conspiracy or two weeks community service and the sentencing are to run concurrently,” the magistrate said.
Oyekanmi said that the convict tarnished the former D-G’s name by alleging that Adepoju diverted deductions in staff salary to his personal account.
“An allegations the convict failed to substantiate,” the magistrate said.
Oyekanmi ordered the convict to make public apology to Adepoju in Sahara Reporters publication for making false allegations of embezzlement against him.
The magistrate also directed that the copy of the apology in the publication must be submitted to the court on Monday.
During the trial, the prosecutor, Mrs Aminat Muhammad-Akinola had informed the court that the convict and others at large, allegedly conspired with Sahara Reporters, an online medium, to publish a defamatory article against Adepoju.
Muhammad-Akinola alleged that the intention behind the publication, knowing it was false, was to tarnish Adepoju’s reputation and cause a breach of public peace at the institute and Nigeria at large.
She informed the court that the offences were committed on June 29, 2021, at about 2.00 p.m.
According to her, the offences contravened Sections 517, 375 and 249(d) of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Vol. II, Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000.
NAN
