Police Label ‘Online Curses’ as Criminal Offence, Popular Nigerian Lawyer Reacts
- Nigeria Police PRO Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi declared online curses and abuses as cyberbullying, punishable under Nigerian law
- Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong dismissed Adejobi’s claims, stating that online curses are not criminal offences under Nigerian law and lack legal basis
- Effiong argued that criminal acts must be explicitly defined in law, highlighting that the repealed Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act no longer applies
The Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has described online abuses, including direct curses, as criminal offences punishable under Nigerian law.
TheTalk.NG reports that this message to Nigerians is coming at a time when the likes of Speed Darlington, among other Nigerians have been arrested for ‘online abuses.’
Police, human rights lawyer argue over what constitutes criminal offence
Photo credit: @InibeheEffiong/@Princemoye1Source: Twitter
However, Adejobi in a statement shared via his X handle, emphasized that freedom of expression does not extend to raining curses on individuals.
“Raining direct curses on someone online is cyberbullying, not expression of freedom or criticism.
“And cyberbullying, which is even different from defamation, is a criminal offense and punishable,” Adejobi stated.
Ignorance of the law raised to power 1000, says Effiong
In a sharp rebuttal, prominent human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong criticized Adejobi’s statement, calling it legally unfounded and misleading.
Effiong dismissed the idea that online curses could constitute a criminal offence.
“This is ignorance of the law raised to power 1000. The fact that this very ridiculous opinion is from the spokesperson of the primary law enforcement agency in Nigeria says a lot about the decadence of our institutions,” Effiong said.
Effiong argued that under Section 36(12) of the Nigerian Constitution, an act or omission can only be deemed a crime if explicitly defined as such in written law.
He further challenged Adejobi to cite any law backing his claim.
“To be clear, raining curses on someone is not a criminal offense. Curses do not have any effect or value in the eyes of the law because they are premised on superstition or, at best, supernatural forces,” Effiong explained.
Effiong also pointed out that the controversial Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, often cited by law enforcement to prosecute critics, has been repealed.
He urged Nigerians to disregard Adejobi’s statement, saying:
“This Force PRO has a history of inventing imaginary offenses from his head. What is more appalling is that he does not know the Cybercrimes Act had since been amended. His statement is baseless and misleading. What a shame!”
Source: TheTalk.NG
