Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has exposed the falseness of the claim made by Muiywa Adejobi, the Federal Police Public Relations Officer (FPRO), that referring to a person as a criminal in Nigeria is a crime.

He said this on Sunday on X (formerly Twitter) in response to an ill-thought-out tweet from Adejobi, adding that an insult is not a crime under the amended cybercrime act signed into law by President Tinubu in February 2024.

The discussion started on Saturday when Adejobi tweeted an image of indigenous Nigerian inspectors general of police (IGPs) with the caption “Former and current indigenous IGPs in Nigeria. We celebrate you all (living and late). Ire oo..”

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Commenting, @HommiesDrey, an X user, said, “Living and late criminals from the most corrupt civil organisation in the entire multiverse. Ire ooo!”

This statement, supported by facts regarding past IGPs such as Sunday Ehindero, Tafa Balogun, Ibrahim Idris, and Solomon Arase, who tarnished their reputations, triggered Adejobi. Not to mention that the 2016 World Internal Security and Police Index described the Nigerian police as the worst in the world, which makes the X user’s claim fairly correct.

Responding to another X user, Adejobi said, “He needs to prove that all the past IGPs are corrupt or  criminals. It’s a simple thing. He should know that the only court that has jurisdiction over the cybercrime Prohibition Act (offences) is the Federal High Court. You gerrit?”

In response to Adejobi’s tweets, Effiong criticised the Force PPRO for alluding to a law that no longer exists in Nigeria. He emphasised that the National Assembly had abolished the notorious Section 24 of the Cybercrimes (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2015, which the police had been exploiting to harass Nigerians, and replaced it with a completely new provision.The amended act was signed into law by President Tinubu in February 2024.

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Effiong explained: “Under the new act, posts injurious to a person’s reputation are no longer a crime. The new Act limits the offence of cyberstalking to messages sent by means of a computer which are: pornographic; a threat to the life of another; or likely to lead to a breakdown of law and order.”

“Under the new Act, posts that are injurious to a person’s reputation are no longer a crime. The new Act limits the offence of cyberstalking to messages sent by means of a computer that are: pornographic; a threat to the life of another; or likely to lead to a breakdown of law and order.

“In this specific case, the post made by this individual is neither pornographic, life-threatening, nor capable of leading to a breakdown of law and order.

“By virtue of Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, an act or omission is only an offence if it is expressly defined in a written law. Nigerians should ignore the Force PRO. Calling someone a criminal is not a crime under the new Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act (as amended). Insult is not a crime under the Act.

“Rather than focus on ways of salvaging the bastardised image of the police, the Force PRO is constantly ruining the image of the police further with his lack of professionalism and disdain for the rights of citizens.”