A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday ordered that actress Doris Ogala be held at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre until her bail application is heard and decided, in a case involving alleged cyberbullying, cyberstalking and attempted extortion of Pastor Chris Okafor.
Ogala was brought before Justice Akintayo Aluko by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on three counts, with the allegations centring on the publication of intimate photographs, the dissemination of allegedly false electronic messages and threats made against the cleric.
Prosecution counsel Tolulope Mokolu informed the court that the defendant committed the offences between September 2024 and March 2026.
Mokolu alleged that Ogala knowingly and deliberately posted nude and intimate photographs of Okafor on her social media accounts without his consent.
The prosecution further alleged that the publication could cause annoyance, embarrassment, emotional distress and damage to the cleric’s reputation, noting that the images were later circulated across social media blogs and platforms.
He accused Ogala of deliberately publishing and disseminating videos, recordings, and electronic messages containing information she allegedly knew to be false, with the aim of bullying, threatening, intimidating, and harassing Okafor.
The prosecutor told the court that the defendant allegedly sent electronic communications threatening to keep publishing menacing and intimate material about the cleric unless he compensated her or bought her a house.
Mokolu said the threats were allegedly made with the aim of damaging Okafor’s reputation and exposing him to ridicule and public scorn.
According to the prosecutor, the offenses breached Sections 24(1)(a), 24(2)(a), and 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
She, however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to her.
After her plea, prosecution counsel Mokolu asked the court to set a date for trial and to order her remand pending the outcome of the case.
Mokolu also told the court that he had only been served with the defendant’s bail application on Wednesday and required time to review it and file a response.
Contesting the remand request, defense counsel N. C. Atulomah argued that whether to grant bail was a matter within the court’s discretion.
He asked the court to release the actress, noting that she was a governorship candidate of a political party in Abia State, and promised to produce her in court at the next hearing.
The prosecutor objected to the defense’s request, arguing that he was still within the time permitted to respond to the bail application.
In his ruling, Justice Aluko held that the defense had not presented sufficient material to the court to justify the request for the defendant’s release.
The judge, however, ordered an accelerated hearing of the bail application and adjourned the matter until October 30, 2026, for it to be heard.
He further ordered that Ogala be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre pending the hearing and determination of the bail application.
The case was adjourned until October 30, 2026, for the hearing of Ogala’s bail application.
