An Ado-Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court on Wednesday sentenced Olubunmi Ayan to two years in prison for posting the nude photos of his former lover on social media.
Taiwo Taiwo, the judge, also ordered the convict to pay a fine of ₦500,000.
“I find this act of the convict highly disgraceful, very despicable and barbaric to say the least,” said the judge, who found the convict guilty of violating Section 24 (1) of the Cyber Crime Act, 2015, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“He has behaved true to the saying that hell knows no fury than a lover scorned. I must say that the defendant who has a wife and children at home could find it easy to demean and embarrass a woman who was having an amorous affair with him.”
The case was between the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Mr Ayan.
According to O.A Oyewole, counsel to the AGF, Mr Ayan had threatened to post nude pictures of his ex- girlfriend, Monica Arare, on social media sometime in 2017 when the lady informed him she was no longer interested in their relationship.
According to the counsel, Ms Arare, a single lady, had pleaded with Mr Ayan, who is married with children, not to carry out his threat and he had requested for ₦200,000 as a condition to rescind his decision.
Mr Ayan had gone ahead to post the nude photos when the lady could not get the money.
Delivering his judgement, the judge said Mr Ayan was found guilty of committing the crime after several evidence made available to the court had been found as “incontrovertible proof that he willfully and maliciously committed the crime.”
“It is an act of meanness to attempt to, if he has not already tarnished the image and reputation of Asare Monica,” the judge said.
“The act of the convict is very strange in our society not to talk of in Aisegba-Ekiti and Ekiti State in general where there are very proud and educated men and women and the society is so closely linked together and everyone knows one another.
“The world has become a global village with the emergence of the social media. Who knows who would have seen the nude pictures?
“Justice in this case demands that people like the convict should be taught a lesson that would serve as deterrent to others who may like to behave in such manner.
“Under no circumstance must Asare Monica or any of her families and relatives should be harassed by anyone. I therefore charge the police to arrest anyone found to harass Monica or any of her relatives or families and friends.”
The judge said the jail term would take immediate effect, adding that he had been lenient in sentencing the culprit as the punishment for his crime attracted a fine of ₦7 million and a three year jail term according to the Cyber Crime Act.
He said the court tempered justice with mercy because of the plea of the culprit’s counsel that he has a family and is a first offender.
The judge lamented that those who made the law stipulating a punishment of ₦7 million and three years jail term to persons guilty of such crimes did not make provisions for compensation for the victim.
He therefore advised that such provision should be made by lawmakers in a future exercise in amending the laws.
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