Eniola Olorundare
The social media and blogging have become thr mainstream source of information for anything breaking news to entertainment news, and even gossip in Nigeria, with over 15 million Nigerians on facebook, twitter and many blogspots springing up daily.
Nigeria has now become a major player in
the social media digital world.
As a result, Internet trolling has become a widespread habit among mobile phone users nowadays.
Hardly do you come across a post from a celebrity, without finding at least one dissatisfied person in the comment section writing degrading things about their person.
While this may seem like cruise catching, many fail to realise that this act amounts to an offence referred to as defamation under the Nigerian law.
What is Defamation/Defamatory matter?
Section 373 of the Criminal Code defines defamatory matter as matter likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt, or ridicule, or likely to damage any person in his profession or trade by an injury to his reputation.
Defamation need not be expressed only through spoken words, audible sounds or words written on any substance or object. It could be expressed directly or indirectly, through insinuation or irony.
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Defamation is infact a misdemeanour i.e. a minor wrong doing. Any one who publishes any defamatory matter is liable to be imprisoned for one year. If such person knows that the publication is false and still goes ahead with it, he/she is liable to be imprisoned for two years.
However, if a defamatory publication is made with an intent to extort money or any other property from an individual, such person who makes the publication would be guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for seven years.
It should be noted that defamation only applies to false information or statements.
Section 375 – 376, Criminal code).
Before you however think that you are going to prison because of what you tweeted or posted or said about someone
else, note that the publication of a defamatory matter is not an offence if the publication is, at the time it is made, for the public benefit and if the
defamatory matter is true.
