Court remands journalist, Stanley Ugagbe, in prison over cyberstalking charges

Journalist Stanley Ugagbe has been ordered remanded in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges including conspiracy and cyberstalking. The court issued the remand order after determining that Ugagbe's bail application was not yet ripe for hearing.

Ugagbe's lawyer, Pauline Olorunyomi, made a strong push for the bail application to be heard immediately. However, the prosecution, representing the police, requested more time to respond to the application and indicated unavailability for a bail hearing until the following week. Consequently, the trial judge adjourned the matter to September 21, with the court's vacation set to begin on July 27.

If the judge cannot hear the bail application before the vacation commences, the defense team has the option to bring it before a designated vacation judge, who can make an independent decision. Ugagbe is to be held in the Kuje correctional center in Abuja pending his bail hearing.

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Mr Ugagbe’s bail application was not yet ripe for hearing.

Ugagbe, a journalist with the online news platform Secrets Reporters, was reportedly abducted from his residence in Abuja on July 3. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) suggested his disappearance might be linked to a recent investigation published by his organization. He was later released from police custody on July 6 following intervention from the Nigeria Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria).

The police have charged Ugagbe and the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Secret Reporters, Tega Oghenedoro (also known as Fejiro Oliver), who is reportedly at large, on six counts. The charges stem from publications that allegedly defamed the Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor, Emem Usoro. Specific articles mentioned in the charges include those with titles like ‘CBN Deputy Governor Emem Nana Usoro Hides N1.4 Billion California Luxury Condo in Asset Declaration Scandal’ and ‘Adulterous Woman: How CBN Deputy Governor Emem Usoro Turned Side Chic, Paraded Herself as Man’s Wife, Destroyed Couple’s Union.’ The police issued a formal invitation to Oghenedoro on July 6, stating they were investigating a case of "Espionage, Cyberstalking and Computer-related offences."

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Espionage, Cyberstalking and Computer-related offences.