Prison for tomato sauce. Chioma Okoli, a 39-year-old woman, is being prosecuted by the Nigerian justice system for “malicious allegations” after leaving a negative comment online about a tomato sauce she had bought in stores, CNN reported this Wednesday, March 27.
The story began on September 17, when this entrepreneur from Lagos asked her 18,000 followers on social media for their opinion on a tomato sauce she had just bought off the shelf. She then explained that she found the product “too sweet” compared to what she usually buys, posting a photo.
Prosecuted for damaging the brand's image
That’s when a simple comment took on delusional proportions. One of the netizens reacted strongly: “Stop spoiling my brother's product. If
(you)
don’t like it, use another one and don’t talk about it on social media or call customer service,” he said. She then replied “Help me by advising your brother to stop killing people with his product, yesterday was the first time I used it and it is pure sugar”.
Informed of these exchanges, the company which produces the tomato sauce in question, Erisco Foods Limited, filed a complaint on September 19 with the Nigerian police for “criminal conspiracy, canvassing and defamation of the murder of people with our products ( …) after failing to extort money from us and cyberharassment,” she said on Facebook.
This approach was motivated by several virulent comments published by the thirty-year-old against the company. In legal documents seen by CNN, Nigerian police say Chioma Okoli used her Facebook account "with the intention of inciting people to oppose Erisco Foods."
Nearly 5,000 euros fine and up to seven years in prison
The woman who is usually a wholesaler of children's clothing was arrested a week later, on September 24, while she was in a church in the Nigerian capital. After hearing by the police, it was determined that she could be released if she agreed within seven days to “write a public apology posted on social networks”, “withdraw the initial message” and “ report to the police station at the end of the seven days”, which she did not do.
She is now accused of “inducing Erisco Foods Limited, knowing that the said information was false, under section 24 (1) (B) of the Nigerian Cybercrime Prohibition Act”. If found guilty, she faces up to three years in prison and a fine of 7 million naira, or 4,900 euros.
Chioma Okoli is also separately charged with conspiring with two others "with intent to incite people to oppose Erisco Foods Limited", which the indictment says is punishable under the same law. She faces a sentence of seven years in prison for these acts.
A demonstration in favor of Chioma Okoli
The case caused a strong reaction in the country, to the point that the police had to react publicly in a press release published on March 7 to reaffirm the right of the Nigerian justice system to prosecute the accused for these facts which fall under the purview of local law.
“The harassment and intimidation of Chioma Okoli must stop now,” Amnesty International Nigeria said on March 16 on young woman. In its press release, the Nigerian police denounced the use of prize pools as a means of “influencing the ongoing procedure”.
Chioma — was arrested by the police and later released over a review of a tomato paste on social media. She has since been facing series of harassment and intimidation: pic.twitter.com/NV0cZ8P7nz
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) March 15, 2024
The case is still ongoing, but multiple protests have taken place to denounce what some believe to be the exercise of his freedom of expression. Several calls to boycott the Erisco Foods Limited brand have emerged, as well as a large demonstration in Lagos on March 12.