As of: April 3, 2024, 7:54 a.m
By: Bettina Menzel, Michelle Brey
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Jail sentence for online criticism of tomato paste: This could be what a 39-year-old in Nigeria could face (symbolic image). © IMAGO / Panthermedia/alfamax76
A tomato paste manufacturer apparently didn't want to accept a woman's criticism. The woman faces years in prison. There are protests.
Lagos – A simple online review of a tomato paste has serious consequences for a 39-year-old. The woman from Nigeria shared her opinion about a product on Facebook in September 2023. She was arrested by the police a week later. The case is receiving international attention. Amnesty International Nigeria also commented.
Facebook review escalates: Customer complains about high sugar content in tomato paste
Chioma Okoli addressed her approximately 18,000 Facebook followers (as of March 2024) with a question about a tomato paste from Erisco Foods Limited. In the supermarket, the 39-year-old did not see the brands she usually bought and therefore bought a different product. However, in her online review, Okoli criticized the product's high sugar content. Numerous reactions followed her post, including the statement: "Stop spoiling my brother's product."
The commenter advised Okoli to choose a different product instead of criticizing it on social media. Okoli responded to the Facebook comment saying: “Help me advise your brother to stop killing people with his product. Yesterday I used it for the first time and it is pure sugar.” A week after this incident, Chioma Okoli was arrested.
Seven years in prison and millions in damages: manufacturer sues Nigerian woman
According to
CNN
, court documents show that police accuse Okoli of using her Facebook account to incite people against Erisco Foods. “Compelling evidence was found.” This constitutes a violation of the Nigerian cybercrime law. Penalties for this could include up to three years in prison, a fine of around 4,600 euros, or both. Erisco Foods has also filed additional lawsuits: In a separate civil conspiracy lawsuit, Okoli could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The manufacturer spoke out on Facebook and spoke of a “charge of criminal conspiracy, demarketing and blackmail to kill people with our products against an organized syndicate that counterfeits our products [...], cyberbullying”. This posting also attracted a few comments. For example, one user asked how much sugar was actually in the tomato paste. Another commented, apparently ironically: “I heard that stuff is terrible and that the tomatoes are grown in radioactive soil.
As CNN further reported, the company is also demanding damages of five billion naira (the equivalent of around 2.7 million euros) in another lawsuit. According to the report, suppliers have ended their cooperation with Erisco and banks have not continued the credit lines. On social media, users called for a boycott of the company's products. There were also protests at the company headquarters in Lagos.
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Court duel in Nigeria after Facebook criticism: Okoli's lawyers file countersuit
Okoli didn't let it go just like that. The lawyers filed a countersuit in October. The Erisco company and the police are accused of two aspects. On the one hand, a violation of the constitutional rights to personal freedom and freedom of movement. On the other hand, the right to freedom of expression is insisted on. The human rights organization Amnesty International Nigeria commented on the case, saying: “The harassment and intimidation of Chioma Okoli must now end.”
In Germany, however, an eco-test caused a stir in 2023. Chemicals have been found in many canned tomatoes.
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