Woman held over alleged online harassment of Shade Okoya

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered a 35-year-old woman, Ifeoma Nwafor, to be held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre. This is due to her alleged cyberstalking of Mrs Folashade Okoya, the Managing Director of Eleganza Industrial City Limited.

Nwafor was taken into custody after Justice Deinde Dipeolu set her bail at N3 million. She was required to have two sureties, each also worth N3 million. However, the judge said she must stay in jail until these bail conditions are met.

The police charged Nwafor with three counts related to conspiracy and cyberstalking Okoya, who is married to billionaire industrialist Razaq Okoya. The police accused her of using several Instagram accounts to post what they called "offensive, false, malicious and calculated" content against Okoya. Nwafor pleaded not guilty to all charges.

After her plea, her lawyer, O.J. Aduwa, requested bail based on Sections 35(4), 36(1) and 36(5) of the Constitution. Aduwa asked the court to allow his client bail on easy terms, promising that she would be present for the trial.

The prosecution, represented by Stanley Nwafoaku from the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, did not oppose the bail request. Nwafoaku mentioned the nature of the alleged crimes.

Justice Dipeolu approved Nwafor’s bail at N3 million and required her to have two sureties. One of the sureties must be a family member. The sureties also need to show proof of three years’ tax payments, their National Identification Numbers, photographs, and sign affidavits confirming they will comply with the court's rules.

The judge also instructed Nwafor to sign an affidavit promising to be available for trial. Until she fulfills the bail requirements, she will remain at the Kirikiri Centre of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Earlier, Nwafor was charged under suit No. FHC/LAG/CR/819/2026, filed against her by the police. They claimed that Nwafor and others, who are still at large, conspired to commit a crime in June 2026 on the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos.

The police alleged that Nwafor's actions aimed to cause "annoyance, injury, fear, intimidation, enmity and/or needless anxiety" to Okoya. They claimed she helped publish "offensive, false, malicious and calculated" content on Instagram through handles named @cutie_juis and @truestorieswithifeomafa.

The prosecution also stated that Nwafor shared pictures of Okoya and defamatory content online. They accused her of using the handle @truestorieswithifeomafans to post a statement meant to bring mockery, ridicule, gossip, suspicion, and scandal against Okoya.

Additionally, it was claimed that Nwafor used an online link to share images of Okoya with a statement also intended to invite mockery and suspicion. The prosecutor noted that these actions violated Sections 516, 24 (2) (1) (a) and (b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

Nwafor pleaded not guilty to all three charges. In court, she said she is from the Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State but was born in Lagos. She attended Christian Council of Nigeria Primary School and Roxton International School before graduating from Oduduwa University in Ipetumodu, Osun State.

The case has been postponed until November 8, 2026, for trial.