Table of Contents
Introduction
On the 25th of October, the Nigerian X (formerly called Twitter) space went wild when news of a father allegedly defiling his two daughters aged five and three years respectively hit the platform. The man, Mr. Okonkwo Ozioma was arrested by the Police on the day the news went viral and at a time when #justiceforOchanya was still fresh in the hearts of people, his head was called for in order to teach other “paedophiles” a lesson.
However, due to past experiences of false rape and defilement accusations on the internet space, several well-meaning Nigerians called for a thorough investigation into the matter in order not to have an innocent man see the walls of a prison he was never meant to be in.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and on the 14th of November, 2025, the Nigerian Police, Enugu State Command reported that medical tests had been conducted and the matter duly investigated and all evidence pointed to Mr. Okonkwo’s innocence.
The State Police Command further went on to state that the individual who had falsely accused him and painted him as a paedophile had been arrested and arraigned on two counts of defamation and passing along of false information to Police detectives. The individual in question was none other than Chisom Okonkwo, Mr. Ozioma’s wife.
This article is written so as to enlighten the general public on the nitty gritty of defamation, and how statements and allegations, if not done with proper confirmation of its validity could lead to a person becoming a defendant in a case of defamation.
What is Defamation?
Defamation is the act of communicating false statements about a person or entity which harms their reputation.
In Chilkied Security Services & Dog Farms Ltd v. Schlumberger (Nig) Ltd, the Supreme Court defined defamation as;
“injury occasioned to another person’s reputation by either written or spoken words”.
Simply put, defamation is bringing harm to another person’s reputation through written publications or via word of mouth. Statements that do not cause harm to a person’s reputation before the general public cannot be considered to be defamatory in nature.
Elements of Defamation
There are three elements necessary for a defamation charge –
- The accused made a statement or imputation against the complainant,
- The statement was published or made visible
- The statement harmed the complainant’s reputation, lowering their standing in the community.
Drawing from the above, defamation can be said to be false statements which harm the reputation of a person, leading to their being held in contempt, and bringing down their esteem before ‘right thinking members of society’.
In law, a defamatory statement is that which lowers a person in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society generally; or which exposes him to hatred, contempt or ridicule; or which causes other people to shun or avoid; or discredit him in his office, trade or profession; or injure his financial credit.
Statements can be considered defamatory in nature not only when directed towards individuals but also corporate personalities. A company with a trading character, regarded by law as an artificial person can sue for defamation and be successful if proven that the defamation occurred in the way of business and affected profit, caused shortfall in turnover or loss of goodwill.
Types of Defamation
From the above definitions of defamation, it can be seen that defamation can occur in two ways –
- Oral; and
- Written
Oral
When a defamation is oral, it is considered Slander
Written
while in its written form, is Libel.
Differences
The main difference between the two is in the means of communication. Slander can occur during conversations, public speeches or through audio-visual means while libel pertains to comments made in written and published contents.
Similarities
Despite this major difference, both share a similar trait in that for claims of either slander or libel, the person claiming defamation must prove that the statements made are untrue, reached an audience outside of themselves and had damaging implications on their reputation.
Defamation as a Tort and Crime
Defamation can either be pursued civilly or as a criminal action. Civil actions typically deal with enforcing a right or wrong that may occur in the everyday interaction of individuals in society while criminal actions deal with addressing wrongs done against the public, even if the immediate victim of such wrong is an individual.
Defamation is primarily civil in nature however, some laws in Nigeria such as the Criminal code, applicable in the southern part of the country and the Penal code, applicable in the Northern states, contain provisions which criminalizes defamation.
Remedies for Civil Defamation
When pursued civilly, it becomes a tortious offence and the repercussions for the tort of defamation falls within the ambit of payment of damages to the wronged party and an injunction against the tortfeasor (defamer) preventing him from engaging in such deeds.
It can also require a widely circulated rebuttal, an open apology to the offended party or a retraction of the defaming material, if published.
A successful claim for the tort of defamation is one which seeks to restore the affected party back to the position that he was before the act was committed against him.
Criminal Defamation
The Criminal code via section 375 states that
“any person who publishes any defamatory matter, is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who publishes any defamatory matter, knowing it to be false, is liable to imprisonment for two years”.
Section 391 of the Penal code also states that
“whoever by words either spoken or reproduced by mechanical means or intended to be read or by signs of visible representations makes or publishes any imputations concerning a person, intending to harm or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm the reputation of such person, is said to defame that person”.
These provisions of the Criminal and Penal code expressly criminalises acts of defaming an individual and provides punitive measures to be carried out against the offender.
Consequences of Mrs. Chisom Okonkwo’s Actions
Whilst there have been several opinions, arguing the criminalisation of defamation, it is law within Nigeria that it is an offence punishable under our criminal provisions. The tide at the moment, seems to be against Mrs. Chisom Okonkwo who through the accusations made against her husband, could be said to have committed the crime of defamation as her statements, by virtue of the police report, are false and have done harm, considered by some to be irredeemable, to her husband’s repute in society.
Further reports by the Enugu State Police command claim that she even coerced the children into giving false testimonies against their father which if proven, will go to prove malicious intent behind her actions. Her actions would not only have tarnished his reputation before society but would have made him a resident of the penitentiary for as long as the rest of his life.
Conclusion
Everything as it stands, seems to point at a valid case of defamation against Mrs. Chisom Okonkwo but time will tell whether or not, her lawyers will find something in the cupboard to aid her defence and maintain her freedom.
Written by Samuel
