A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the remand of a 19-year-old blogger, Nurenorue John Surpruchi, over allegations of cyberstalking and publishing defamatory content targeting businessman and United Bank for Africa (UBA) chairman, Tony Elumelu.
Surpruchi was arraigned before Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on a four-count charge that includes conspiracy, cyberstalking, bullying, and defamation.
Prosecutors alleged that he and others still at large used social media to circulate false claims about Elumelu and his family. The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges.
According to court filings, the prosecution accused Surpruchi of publishing a post on X, formerly Twitter, alleging that Elumelu had divorced his wife after DNA tests purportedly showed that none of their seven children were biologically his.
Authorities described the claims as false, malicious, and intended to damage the reputation of the UBA chairman.
Prosecuting counsel A.G. Obi told the court that the state had only recently received the defendant’s bail application and needed time to respond.
The prosecution subsequently requested that the blogger be remanded pending the hearing of the bail request. Defence counsel A. Edoh asked for a short adjournment to enable consideration of the application.
After hearing both sides, Justice Lewis-Allagoa adjourned the matter until June 19 for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendant remain in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The case follows an earlier statement by UBA dismissing the viral allegations about Elumelu’s family as fabricated and misleading.
The bank said the matter had been reported to law enforcement agencies and that investigations had already led to arrests linked to the dissemination of the claims.
The charges were filed under the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended, as well as sections of Nigeria’s Criminal Code relating to defamatory publications and criminal intimidation.
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