The Nigeria Police Force has filed a notice of appeal challenging the August 8, 2025, judgment of Honourable Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which discharged and acquitted Bolanle Aseyan on a four-count charge relating to alleged offensive publication, criminal intimidation, and cyberstalking against Dr. Olufunmilayo Ogunsanya.
The appeal, dated October 2025, was filed by the Office of the Inspector General of Police through its legal officer, Emmanuel Eze, Esq., seeking to set aside the ruling and order a retrial.
Aseyan had been accused of publishing defamatory content between June 29 and August 14, 2020, on Twitter (now X), allegedly intended to harm Dr. Ogunsanya’s reputation. She was arraigned on four counts under sections 24(1)(a), 24(1)(b), 24(2)(c)(i), and 24(2)(c)(ii) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu held that while the prosecution proved the actus reus—the criminal act—of the alleged offences, it failed to establish the mens rea, or criminal intent, leading to Aseyan’s discharge and acquittal.
In the notice of appeal, the police argued that the trial court erred in law by acquitting Aseyan despite acknowledging that the alleged posts were made and offensive. Key grounds for the appeal include:
The police also clarified that the discharge in this cyberbullying case does not in any way validate Aseyan’s previous rape allegations, which were investigated in the UK by authorities and found to be unsubstantiated.
The Inspector General of Police is now asking the Court of Appeal, Lagos Judicial Division, to set aside the Federal High Court’s ruling and order a retrial. The case, which first drew public attention in 2020, centres on social media posts allegedly designed to intimidate, annoy, and damage the reputation of Dr. Ogunsanya, in violation of the Cybercrime Act.
