Nurenorue Surpruchi, a 19-year-old blogger, was arraigned on Friday over cyberstalking and defamation of Tony Elumelu, Chairman of the United Bank for Africa.
Surpruchi was brought before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on four counts of conspiracy, cyberstalking, bullying, and defamation.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
According to the prosecution, on April 5, 2026, the defendant and those who remain at large allegedly conspired to transmit false and damaging information about Elumelu using a computer system and network.
When the case came up for arraignment, prosecution counsel A.G. Obi of the Directorate of Legal Services, Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, Lagos, informed the court that the prosecution had filed a four-count charge against the defendant and urged the court to order that the charges be read to him for plea.
The charges were then read, and the defendant pled not guilty on all counts.
Following the plea, Obi informed the court that, while the prosecution was prepared to proceed with the case, it had only just received the defendant’s bail application earlier in the day.
The prosecutor requested that the defendant be remanded in the Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of the bail application.
They also requested a trial date. The defense counsel, A. Edoh, confirmed that the bail application had only recently been served on the prosecution and requested a short adjournment to allow the court to consider the application.
In one of the counts, the prosecution claimed that the defendant used an X account identified as “@PROBLElEMCHIMKYI,” allegedly registered in his name, to publish false and offensive statements claiming that Elumelu had divorced his wife after discovering through DNA tests that none of his seven children belonged to him.
The prosecution also alleged that the publication, which reportedly garnered about 1.9 million views, 1,600 reposts, 6,300 likes, and over 600 saves, was intended to bully, threaten, and harass the UBA chairman, thereby injuring his reputation and exposing him to public ridicule.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offenses contravened Sections 24(1)(b), 24(2)(a), and 27(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended), as well as Sections 373 and 375 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation, 2004.
