We’ve built cyberstalking case against detained activist, Chude Nnamdi –Police

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

The Nigeria Police has said it has built up a case of cyberstalking against Chude Nnamdi, a political campaigner who was arrested on March 18.

The police’s official response is coming four days after reports of the campaigner’s arrest surfaced online.

In a statement confirming Chude’s arrest, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the police received a petition complaining about the campaigner’s activities on social media.

“[Chude] is being investigated by the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC) Abuja, for cyberstalking,” the police stated.

According to the police, Chude’s social media activities contravene the provision of Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 and other criminal laws.

The Nigerian police are seeking legal action against Chude.

“[The police have established a] prima facie case against [Chude] while his case file has been forwarded to the Force Legal Department for further action,” the statement continued.

Unverified reports of Chude’s arrest surfaced online on March 18; the day of the Nigerian gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections.  

Chude’s March 18 Twitter feed featured a handful of direct tweets from him and numerous retweets all covering the elections in real-time nationwide.

On March 19, the governor of Anambra state, Chukwuma Soludo issued a statement confirming Chude’s arrest.

Soludo said the Anambra State Government had no information about the specific allegations or basis of his arrest.

The police did not announce the identity of the person who petitioned against Chude’s social media activity.

On Twitter, however, Soludo is the other person aside from the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who Chude made pointed tweets about.

Chude tweeted at Soludo by 4:12 PM saying, “#Breaking: APGA thugs are on rampage in Trans-Nkisi, 3’3 & Awada snatching ballot box[es]. LP is winning comfortably across Anambra. I can’t remember the last time I heard of ballot box snatching in Anambra. This is the height of it. @CCSoludo has taken us back to Mbadinauju’s era.”

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is the ruling party in Anambra state.

A few minutes before the Soludo post, Chude had tweeted at Sanwo-Olu, “What [is] happening in Lagos state isn’t an election but a state-sponsored Terror attack. @jidesanwoolu is the master minder, hold him responsible.” 

Chude is a public supporter of the Labour party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Obi had stated his disapproval of Chude’s arrest and called for his release on March 21.

Obi described Chude’s arrest as “further confirmation of Nigeria’s poor and declining performance in the Rule of Law; Voice and Accountability, and other governance indicators.” 

“While I appreciate that the freedoms must be exercised in line with the rule of law, arresting Nigerians for tweeting on their leaders and those in authority decimates the opportunity for inclusive governance and accountability which are highly needed in a developing country like Nigeria,” Obi said.

The police have asked members of the public to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the law and be aware of the penalties for violating them most especially cybercrime laws with the new trends in the digital media space.