Ruth Ogunleye, the TikTok personality, has been sentenced to two years in prison for defamatory videos targeting Oluyemi Thomas Olatoye, commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
The Kaduna high court convicted Ogunleye after she pleaded
guilty to two of five counts filed against her by Olatunji Disu, the
inspector-general of police.
Rilwanu Aikawa, the judge who presided over the case,
sentenced Ogunleye to one year imprisonment on each count, with the terms to
run concurrently. She was also ordered to pay a fine of N250,000 per count,
totalling N500,000.
However, the court suspended the custodial sentences for
three years under a plea bargain agreement between the prosecution and defense.
The case stemmed from allegations that Ogunleye published
defamatory videos about Olatoye on her TikTok account, @ogunleyeruthsavage, on
August 14, 2026.
One video reportedly carried the caption, “Maj General Yemi
Olatoye is responsible for my death,” while another was captioned, “I go post
your oga own too, your oga own dey my phone”.
Prosecutors alleged the publications contained false claims
intended to cause annoyance, insult, hatred, and damage to the military
officer’s reputation.
The charges were brought under Section 24(1)(b) of the
Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended by the
Cybercrimes Amendment Act 2024.
Following negotiations, Ogunleye agreed to plead guilty to
the first two counts, while the prosecution agreed to withdraw the remaining
three counts.
As part of the plea bargain, the court directed her to
publish a public apology in two national newspapers within 14 days of
sentencing.
She was also ordered to delete all posts and videos relating
to Olatoye from her TikTok and other social media accounts within 48 hours of
her release from custody.
The agreement further prohibits her from making any
statements or publications about the NDA commandant, contacting him directly or
indirectly or sharing the disputed materials through any platform or account.
The restrictions also prohibit her from republishing or
circulating the materials through third parties.
The court warned that any breach of the conditions during
the three-year suspension period could lead to her being brought back to serve
the prison sentence.
The undertaking not to publish further materials about or
contact the complainant will remain binding for life.
Speaking after the proceedings, Mohammed Sani Katu, counsel
to Olatoye, said the plea bargain followed an approach by Ogunleye’s lawyer to
resolve the case without a full trial.
Katu explained that the agreement allowed the defendant to
plead guilty to two counts in exchange for the withdrawal of the remaining
charges.
He said the suspended sentence was intended to give Ogunleye
an opportunity to demonstrate remorse and comply with the conditions.
“Having pleaded guilty, she was sentenced to serve the
prison time of one year each on the two counts and then to pay a fine of
N250,000 on each count, cumulatively N500,000,” he said.
“Now, the sentence is suspended for three years so that we
can put her under observation to see whether she will be remorseful. If within
these three years she violates these terms, she will be brought back to serve
the sentence.”
Katu added that Ogunleye’s guilty plea meant she had
admitted to the offences contained in the two counts.
He maintained that any violation of the court-approved
conditions could result in the enforcement of the suspended prison term.
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