Blogger Convicted for Defaming MFM Founder Dr. Olukoya in Viral Post

 
A Federal High Court in Lagos has found blogger Adewale Ajimisogbe guilty of cyberbullying and defaming Dr. Daniel Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
Ajimisogbe and Ayotunde Richards, a former member of MFM, were first brought to court on March 20, 2024. They faced 12 charges, including conspiracy, cyberbullying, and libel. While both were jointly charged with three counts of conspiracy and cyber defamation, Ajimisogbe faced nine additional libel charges individually.
Police prosecutor Nosa Uhumwangho told the court that the offenses happened between December 2023 and February 2024. He said Ajimisogbe had posted a defamatory article on his blog, "Postreporters," titled: “He is a criminal and behind all illegal acts – Ex-MFM Church singer sues founder Daniel Olukoya and others, seeks N15.5bn in damages for illegal detention and breach of human rights.” The prosecutor said the post violated Sections 24 and 27 of the Cybercrimes Act of 2015.
Initially, both Ajimisogbe and Richards pleaded not guilty. However, Ajimisogbe later changed his plea after evaluating the evidence. As part of the plea deal, he agreed to publicly retract the article, issue an apology, and pay a fine of N50,000 to the federal government.
His lawyer, Ife Ajayi, asked the court to accept the plea deal, emphasizing that Ajimisogbe had no prior criminal record, had shown remorse, and respected Dr. Olukoya, whom he described as a father figure.
The prosecution, the lawyer for the second defendant (Ademola Adewale), and the complainant’s counsel (Adegboye A.) did not oppose the agreement.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa approved the plea bargain and ordered Ajimisogbe to pay the N50,000 fine. The court then scheduled June 3, 2025, for the continuation of the case against the second defendant.