In a significant legal decision, a Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, Oluwatosin Onamade has been exonerated of cybercrime charges filed against him by former chairman of Ijede LCDA, Fatiu Jimoh Salisu.
The court ruled in favour of Onamade, discharging him of the two counts charge of cybercrime.
This verdict comes after the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence implicating Onamade in the alleged cybercrime offences.
The court’s decision to acquit Onamade reflects the lack of compelling evidence brought forward by the prosecution, thus resulting in the dismissal of all charges against him.
The charges stemmed from allegations that Onamade had accused Fatiu of being the mastermind behind the murder of Godfrey Ifeanyi, a staff of Western Funeral Home, and had circulated defamatory statements about Salisu on various social media platforms, particularly on WhatsApp groups.
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However, during the trial, the prosecution was unable to provide conclusive evidence linking Onamade to the alleged cybercrimes.
In his defence, Onamade sought ‘an order of the court discharging him from the offences in Counts 1 and 2 of the Charge dated 18th November 2021 and for such order, the honourable court may deem fit to make in the circumstance of this case.’
He based his submission on the ‘prosecution did not lead evidence to establish and/or show the existence of the essential elements of the alleged offence preferred against the defendant in Counts 1 and 2 of the charge dated 18th November 2021 neither did the prosecution lead evidence to link the defendant to the offence allegedly committed.’
He further noted in his submission that the evidence presented by the prosecution is so ‘manifestly unreliable that the Court cannot rely on it to convict the defendant,’ adding that the prosecution has not shown that the defendant has any case to answer concerning the offences charged in all the counts of Charge.’
In his ruling, Justice Ayokunle Faaji of the Federal High Court in Lagos ruled that the prosecution failed to prove its allegations against Onamade.
