The Makurdi Chief Magistrates’ Court on Thursday ordered that a 37-year-old activist, Uchena Mojekwu, be remanded in prison custody for defaming the character of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s aide, Dennis Akura.

Mr Mojekwu is charged with criminal conspiracy, cyberstalking and defamation of character.

However, the chief magistrate, Kelvin Mbanongun, did not take Mr Mojekwu’s plea for want in jurisdiction.

Mr Mbanongun adjourned the matter until June 17 for further mention.

The prosecutor, Insp Godwin Ato, told the court that on March 8, a petition addressed to the police commissioner in Benue, written by S.A. Akpehe on behalf of Mr Akura, was received at the state CID, Makurdi.

Mr Ato said the petition stated that on February 20, Mr Mojekwu, operating under the auspices of Global Integrity Crusade Network, authored a petition addressed to the chairman of the EFCC and circulated it on Facebook and WhatsApp. 

In it, he accused Mr Akura, the governor’s special adviser on the bureau for local government and chieftaincy affairs, of embezzlement.

Mr Mojekwu, in his petition to the EFCC, accused the complainant of supervising the outright embezzlement and diversion of over N20 million being part of aggregate federal accounts allocation committee to the 23 focal government councils between June to November 2023 using individual and privately owned companies.

The complainant said his attention was drawn to the petition posted on Mr Mojekwu’s social media on February 28, where another individual, Torkuma Terhile, commented, “feeling crazy,” saying that the defendant’s false allegation was injurious to his person.

(NAN)