An Enugu East Magistrate’s Court in Nkwo Nike, Enugu State, has remanded 45-year-old Chidi Ani in prison for allegedly accusing three individuals of carrying out an attack on members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Obuoffia Awkunanaw in the state.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that hoodlums attacked and disrupted meetings of the NDC and later the Peoples Democratic Party which were separately held on Saturday, 12 September in Ndiuno-Obuoffia and Agbani Communities within Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state.
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Arraignment and remand
Mr Ani, who reportedly recorded the attack on the NDC members, was arraigned before a magistrate by the police in Enugu State on Monday on three counts of cybercrime and criminal defamation.
PREMIUM TIMES obtained the charge sheet filed against the defendant.
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A review of the charge sheet showed that the defendant was not being prosecuted for filming and posting the reported attack on the NDC members.
In the charge sheet, the police told the court that the defendant published a video footage of the 12 September on social media and falsely accused three individuals of carrying out the attack on the NDC members.
The three individuals he allegedly accused were Nnabuike Ani, Solomon Ifeanyi, and Monday Anninwe.
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Count one reads: “That you, Ani Samuel Chidi ‘m’, on the 12th day of September, 2026, at about 05:40hours at Obuoffia Awkunanaw, Enugu, did intentionally author, record and published a false statement against Ani Nnabuike ‘m’ on Ite-Odo Obuoffia Community Whatsapp Group, Tik-Tok, Instagram, Facebook, Sahara Reporters by stating that ‘he is a member of the armed group that attacked members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and disrupted their political meeting’ and also threatened to kill him and his family members, a publication which you knew to be false and put Ani Nnabuike ‘m’ in fear of imminent attack from members of the public; and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24(2)(a)&(c)(i) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended 2024).”
Mr Ani, the defendant, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Chief Magistrate, F. E. Chukwu, ordered that the defendant be remanded in the prison facility pending further court proceedings.
NDC governorship candidate kicks
Reacting, the NDC governorship candidate in Enugu State, Chinyeaka Ohaa, condemned Mr Ani’s arraignment and remand in prison.
In a statement by his media aide Sampson Ukwu which was posted on Facebook on Tuesday, Mr Ohaa stressed that the defendant was an NDC member who filmed the violent attack on party members.
“While the suspected attackers and their alleged sponsors remain free, the man who documented the incident is being prosecuted for cybercrime and criminal defamation,” he said.
The NDC governorship candidate described the development as a “disturbing case of justice turned upside down,” stressing that filming and exposing an attack on citizens should not be treated as a crime in a democratic society.
He questioned the alleged silence of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, saying he ought to speak on the matter especially as the attack happened in Nkanu Area of Enugu where the governor hails from.
“Your kinsmen and women were shot at a peaceful political meeting in your own cultural zone. Eight people sustained gunshot injuries.
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“Yet, while the alleged perpetrators walk free, the eyewitness who recorded the attack is being remanded. Why the silence?” he said.
Mr Ohaa argued that those who carried out the attacks on the NDC members should be tracked down and not those who filmed it.
“When those who shoot innocent citizens are protected and the person who films the crime is punished, then we are in dangerous territory. I will not keep quiet while my people are treated this way,” he said.
The politician then demanded the immediate release of Mr Ani and called for the “diligent prosecution” of all those involved in the attack on the NDC members.
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