Nigerian police warns citizens against Cursing govt officials, others on social media, may attract jail sentence

By: Manoah Kikekon 

IGP Kayode Egbetokun [Credit; Daily Trust]

Police will begin cracking down on Nigerians who curse public servants and others on social media, threatening to imprison and prosecute them.

Nigerians are not allowed to curse officials, according to a warning released by Force Headquarters on Friday.

Chief police spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement on X on Friday, said, “Raining direct curses on someone online is cyberbullying, not expression of freedom or criticism. And cyberbullying, which is even different from defamation, is a criminal offence and punishable. Be guided.”

Afe Babalola, a senior lawyer, was recently identified as the powerful Nigerian who ordered the arrest, brutalisation, and detention of human rights activist Dele Farotimi by police on December 4 on a defamation charge.

Mr. Babalola requested that Mr. Farotimi be taken into custody by the Nigerian police and driven the 334 kilometers—a journey that took more than five hours—to Ekiti.

More than a year has passed since the senior attorney gave millions of British pounds to King's College in London to support African students' education and human rights.

Mr. Babalola is a well-known individual in Ekiti with a great deal of power. With thousands of workers and a university in the state capital, he has been honoured by the state government, which has declared October 19 to be Afe Babalola Day.