Police break silence on Erisco Tomato paste reviewer, Chioma Okoli

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has opened up on the ongoing prosecution of a reviewer of Erisco product, Mrs. Chioma Okoli, saying the cybercrime Act remains potent and effective.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, spoke on the back of the controversy trailing the prosecution.

Erisco has been trending on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) in recent times over the case filed by Erisco Foods Limited against Okoli. Erisco has rejected the negative review of its product by the woman last year.

The move to resolve the case out of court could not materialize following disagreement by both parties with Erisco slamming a N5bn suit against her.

Human Rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong had taken up the matter, defending Okoli pro bono while a crowdfunding account had been set up to prosecute the case.

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While netizens allege the reviewer is being intimidated by the case, saying Erisco is not the first product to be criticized, other Nigerians also backed the action of Erisco Foods Limited to defend the integrity of its brand.

The force PRO in a statement reaffirming the ongoing prosecution of Okoli insisted the accused violated certain sections of the Cybercrime Act in her review.

The statement read: “The involvement of Mrs. Chioma (Okoli) warrants scrutiny as she stands accused of violating some salient parts of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015 as preliminary investigations conducted have unearthed compelling evidence indicating Mrs. Chioma’s alleged role in the violation of extant laws, particularly those related to the proper use of the cyber space.

“At this juncture, it is imperative to caution members of the public against spreading misinformation and attempting to manipulate public sentiment.

“The law operates impartially, and any attempt to subvert it will be met with the full force of legal action.

“The recent developments in the case are deeply worrisome, particularly the use of crowdfunding as a means to influence legal proceedings. Such actions undermine the integrity of the justice system and threaten the principles of fairness and accountability as they are highly inimical to the existence of the rule of law.

“This case in point underscores the necessity of enforcing existing legislation, including the Cybercrime Act, to counteract the current spate of violations of the Act and spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media.

“It is vital to reaffirm that the Nigeria Police is poised to enforce all laws without fear, favour, or sentiments in its commitment to ensuring justice and transparency for all citizens.

“We therefore advise the suspect to cease the continual jumping bail and turn up in court, as a neutral arbiter, to determine the matter, and allow justice to take its course, while we admonish Nigerians, most especially social media influencers, to resort to embracing the rule of law, and shun all display of sentiments in the case, and in many others as the police will not be deterred by the antics of certain individuals to pervert justice in any way.”

Police statement prejudicial, baseless – Effiong

In a reaction, the counsel for Okoli, Effiong described the police statement as “prejudicial and utterly baseless”.

He said the promise by the police to “upholding the rule of law in the Erisco Tomatoes matter” is laughable “because every action taken so far in this matter shows blatant disregard for the rule of law.”

He said, “For example, it is on record that policemen who claimed to be acting under the orders of the Inspector General of Police illegally invaded the home of our client on 9th January, 2024 and laid siege to her home for over 10 hours in their attempt to rearrest her, in violation of the subsisting restraining order of the Federal High Court that our client must not be rearrested except on the express order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The Force PRO also insinuated that the crowdfunding by spirited Nigerians to support Chioma’s legal pursuits is aimed at “influencing legal proceedings.”

“We are unable to make sense of this particular statement as it is neither coherent nor reasonable. It is preposterous for the Force PRO to insinuate that crowdfunding can influence legal proceedings. He failed to state exactly how this is possible or how it affects Chioma’s case.

“If the Force PRO is interested in getting a share of the funds contributed by concerned Nigerians to support Chioma, he should come out plainly and say so instead of indulging in embarrassing prevarication. ACP Adejobi also asserted that “preliminary investigation unearthed compelling evidence indicating Mrs. Chioma’s alleged role in the violation of extant laws.

“We consider this statement prejudicial to a fair trial. Since the police has filed a charge in court, they should allow the court to determine the case instead of engaging in media trial. It is curious that the Force PRO has chosen to keep the so-called “compelling evidence” only in his head.

“He should extract it from his head and present it before the court. We cannot comment on fiction.”

He urged ACP Adejobi “to desist from propaganda and imbibe responsible policing attributes.”