A federal high court in Abuja has remanded activist Olamide Thomas in custody over allegations of cyberbullying against Seyi Tinubu, son of President Bola Tinubu, and other high-ranking officials.
Thomas was arraigned on a three-count charge and pleaded not guilty on Friday.
The police accused her of sharing a video on social media, stating that “Mr Seyi Tinubu will die this year” and making other remarks that allegedly bullied, threatened, and harassed the individuals mentioned.
The court rejected Thomas’s oral bail application and directed her counsel to file a formal bail application.
“That you OLAMIDE ABIODUN THOMAS ‘F’, sometime in 2024, in the Federal Republic of Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did knowingly and intentionally transmit or cause the transmission of communication in the form of video recording through computer system or network on your Social media platforms wherein you made remarks in Yoruba language stating that Mr. Seyi Tinubu will die this year, and misfortune and calamity has befallen the Tinubu family, with intent to bully, threaten, harass the person of Mr. Seyi Tinubu, where such communication places the said Mr. Seyi Tinubu in fear of death, violence or bodily harm and you thereby commit an offence contrary to and punishable under section 24 (2) (a) Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024,” the first count reads.
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In the second count, the police accused Thomas of threatening and bullying Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), in the said video.
In the third count, the police accused the activist of saying that the children of Muyiwa Adejobi, the force spokesperson, would die before his eyes.
The trial judge, Emeka Nwite, however adjourned the case to December 30 for trial.
Thomas’s arrest stemmed from a Facebook video recorded after she was arrested by the police on October 20, 2024, during a rally commemorating the fourth anniversary of #EndSARS at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos.
