Court remands man over alleged defamation of Ebonyi SSG

An Abakaliki Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded Polycap Alegu over alleged defamation and cyberbullying of the Secretary to the Ebonyi State Government, Grace Umezurike.

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Mr Alegu, 36, is facing a two-count charge of criminal defamation and cybercrime. The court did not take his plea.

Prosecuting counsel, Linda Akam, said Mr Alegu committed the offences on 16 December 2025, through a Facebook post.

“Alegu published defamatory content against Umezurike, punishable under Section 375(A) of the Criminal Code Act,” Ms Akam told the court.

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She added that he “knowingly made a false and defamatory Facebook publication, contrary to Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes Act”.

Defence counsel, Sunday Ununu, argued that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) lacked authority to initiate remand proceedings or file charges for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Mr Ununu contended that only the attorney general of the federation has constitutional powers to institute such criminal proceedings.

Chief Magistrate Sandra Ifeanyi-Onyibe overruled the objection. She held that the Nigerian Constitution empowers NSCDC to act on behalf of the attorney general of the federation.

The magistrate dismissed the locus standi argument, denied bail to the defendant, ordered his remand. She ordered that the case file be forwarded to the Department of Public Prosecution for advice.

The matter was adjourned until 26 January for a report on compliance.

Alegu’s Facebook post

The defendant, Mr Alegu, made a Facebook post last December alleging that the Ebonyi deputy governor held a secret meeting in an Abuja hotel with her critic, Chika Nwoba, and offered him “millions of naira” as a bribe to stop publishing articles accusing her of stealing government funds.

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“Recall that it was Chika who broke the news on the financial malfeasance of the SSG, where billions of naira went south. EFCC recovered the money. The condition is, if the state government needs the money, the SSG must be probed and punished duly, or they should forfeit it. Since the SSG was appointed on ground of political clintelism and prebendalism, the oga at the federal wadded in and the case died. The money was forfeited to save the image of the accused, and the EFCC gained it at the detriment of the entire state, whose billions were looted,” Mr Alegu wrote in the Facebook post.

He later deleted the post.

(NAN)