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DEFAMATION IN THE NIGERIAN LAW: ARE ALL ABUSIVE STATEMENTS DEFAMATORY?


Never Make a Negative Comment or Spread Rumors about Anyone. It Depreciates Their Reputation and Yours- Brian Koslow
"Walk Away from Gossip and Verbal Defamation. Speak only the Good You Know of Other People and Encourage Others to Do the Same"


YOU are the purpose for this post. For you to be INFORMED. Before we begin, let’s consider this background:

“Johnson, a regular Twitter user was a trending topic after a lady tweeted about her alleged experience with him. The lady, Juliet, narrated in the tweet how Johnson slid into her DM for them to meet at a location in Lagos to the point where Johnson allegedly raped her ferociously. As expected, the issue instigated pernicious reactions from social media users began who made him a criminal in their court. What a blind judgment! Johnson, unaware of the allegation made against him, logged on to twitter only to be filled with chagrin. His portrait had spread across the internet infamously with the tag of a rapist. He soon realized he had slid into the wrong DM. In a nutshell, Johnson decides to bring up a lawsuit against Juliet and the social media platforms that aggrandized his predicament.”

As couched by Chapter 33 Section 373 of the Nigeria Criminal Code Act, “Defamatory matter is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred contempt or ridicule, or likely to damage any person in his profession or trade by an injury to his reputation".


It is ubiquitous nowadays for people to use the phrase “defamation of character” when describing an affront on their personality. This they do without knowing empirically what “defamation” really entails. Simply defined, defamation is an act of harming or putting into doubt and disrepute the reputation of a person or an organization in consonance with stipulated parameters.

Internet-wise, defamation can easily be committed as users are susceptible to posting untrue and unverified statements about other individuals. There are two concepts that are analogously related to defamation; libel and slander. Libel refers to a written mischievous statement about an individual. While slander is the oral form of defamation which is mostly derogatory.


CONDITIONS NECESSARY TO PROVE A CASE OF DEFAMATION
i.                     The statement must be defamatory: In Newsbreed Org. Ltd v. Erhomosele (2007) 5 NWLR pt. 979 p.499, the court stated that for a statement to be adjudged defamatory, it must be untrue and that the victim (plaintiff) suffered damages. Apart from this, reasonable and right thinking human beings must be able to attest and testify that the statement in question is defamatory.
ii.                   The statement must refer to the defamed persons: the plaintiff (allegedly defamed person) must prove that the supposed defamatory statement is targeted to him.
iii.                  The statement must be published: by this we mean the alleged defamatory statement must have been communicated to at least one person (third party) other than the plaintiff. See Dairo vs. U.B.N (2006) 16 NWLR 1059 p.99.

Consequently, any statement sent over social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook etc.) which is pejorative, abusive, malicious and fallacious about an individual or organization is regarded as defamation. Hence platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp groups and the likes possess the legal capacity to convey and proliferate a defamatory statement.

REPERCUSSIONS OR PUNISHMENT
According to Chapter 33 Section 375 of the Nigerian Criminal Code, “…any person who person who publishes any defamatory matter is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who publishes any defamatory matter knowing it to false is liable to imprisonment for two years.”  

Do not assume that false accusations won’t be used against your aspirations in the nearest future. Take a legal step to it. Silence may not be golden.

SAVE YOUR DREAM FROM DEFAMATION AND DISFIGUREMENT!!!


Written and edited by Okediya Peter O.


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