The Nigerian Police Force has secured a remand order from the Chief Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, for Reno Omokri, former special assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media.
The police are seeking to detain Omokri along with former Dunamis Church Pastor Abraham Daniel and two others—Mr. Enenche Idoga Alexander and Oboyinlo Enenche Peter—over allegations of defamation.
The court issued the remand order on January 13, 2025, following an ex-parte motion filed by Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
The application, filed by Francis Gabriel, Esq., on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, resulted in the remand of Omokri and the others pending their investigation, arraignment, and prosecution.
The Chief Magistrate, His Worship Chief Emmanuel A. Iyanna, directed that the respondents be produced before the court on January 30, 2025.
Iyanna held: “Upon hearing the application and submissions of learned FRANCIS GABRIEL, ESQ, and upon careful consideration of the averments, the annextures and issues as raised in the submissions of the applicant. The application is hereby granted as prayed.
“It Is hereby ordered as follows: An Order of this Honourable Court for remand warrant of the Respondents (i) MR. DANIEL ABRAHAM (ii) MR. ENENCHE IDOGA ALEXANDER (iii) OBOYINLO ENENCHE PETER and (iv) MR. RENO OMOKRI in the custody of the Nigeria Correctional Service pending investigation, arraignment/prosecution.
“It is here ordered that the Respondents be arraigned before a Court of competent jurisdiction after the conclusion of the said investigation.
“On the return date, the Respondents should be produced.
“The matter is adjourned to 30 Day of January, 2025.”
The case centers around allegations of defamation made against Omokri, the Gistlover blog, Aunty Adul, Peter Obonyiro, Kelechi TV, and others, who have been accused of spreading false information. The charges stem from a petition submitted to the Inspector General of Police by Patrick O. Okolo, SAN, regarding alleged defamatory content targeting Pastor Paul Enenche of Dunamis Church.
A source close to the situation told SaharaReporters that Pastor Abraham Daniel’s prosecution followed his resignation from the church after nearly a decade of service. His departure allegedly followed a conflict with Pastor Paul Enenche, who reportedly sought to prevent Daniel from leaving. The dispute escalated, leading to Daniel’s divorce and threats against him.
After leaving the church, Daniel faced threats, including a serious car accident caused by these threats. Following the incident, Daniel was reportedly detained by police officers at the Karu Police Station at the request of Pastor Paul Enenche. According to the source, Daniel was advised to apologize to Enenche and return to the church, which he refused to do.
As the case developed, Daniel was pressured to delete his Facebook page in exchange for a promise that the matter would be settled. However, the source claimed that Pastor Enenche later breached their agreement, providing Daniel with only a small amount of compensation. In response, Daniel was invited by the Force Intelligence Department (FID) for questioning, where he faced charges related to cyber-bullying, criminal defamation, and other offenses.
On January 13, 2025, Daniel was detained once again after being invited by the police. During the investigation, he was shown WhatsApp chats regarding his criticisms of Pastor Enenche’s daughter and a request for better accommodation for a family member. Despite not recalling the source of the chats, Daniel confirmed their accuracy.
The matter has been adjourned to January 30, 2025, when the accused individuals will be required to appear in court.
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