Chioma Okoli Secures N50m Bail in Ongoing Erisco Legal Battle

Court grants Chioma Okoli to N50 million bail in the Erisco controversy

Mrs. Chioma Okoli was granted N5 million bail with two sureties in the same amount by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday. The allegations against her stemmed from her remarks she made online about tomato paste made by Erisco Foods Limited.

In a decision, Justice Peter Lifu agreed with the defense attorney, Inibehe Effiong, that the crime against which Mrs. Okoli was accused was one that could be released on bond.

Justice Lifu additionally stated that under Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the accused is assumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The judge claims that refusing her bail would be an improper use of authority, akin to a pre-trial ruling and judicial misbehavior.

He also grounded the decision in Okoli's state of health.

Judge Lifu admitted her to bond, stating that one of the sureties had to be a blood relative or the defendant's spouse who lived within the court's jurisdiction and had a fluctuating income.

The defendant was instructed by the judge to deposit her foreign passport, if any, together with the passport photographs that each of the sureties had to deposit.

He postponed the issue until June 13 in order to hold another hearing.

Mrs. Okoli is facing charges because she allegedly broke the 2015 Cybercrime Act when she commented online about tomato paste made by Erisco Foods Limited.

She was charged with two counts of cybercrime on Tuesday, when she was hauled before Justice Lifu by Inspector-General (1-G) of the Police.

The judge granted her remand until today in order to rule on her bail application, despite the fact that she entered not guilty pleas to every count.

Prior to this, the defense attorney, Effiong, moved for bail, while the prosecution attorney, Abdulrashid Sidi, urged the court to deny the request.

Sidi had raised objections to the bail application, claiming that the defendant's background and prior offenses made it likely that she would violate her release terms.

The prosecution told the judge that the defendant had violated the terms of his administrative bail, and that he was likely going to jump bail.

According to the police, preliminary inquiries turned up substantial evidence that pointed to Mrs. Okoli's involvement in breaking the law, particularly as it related to responsible use of internet.

On September 17, 2023, Okoli posted on Facebook that the day before, she had bought Nagiko Tomato Mix from Erisco Foods and thought it was extremely sweet.

She said that although Gino and Sonia were out of stock, she usually On September 17, 2023, Okoli posted on Facebook that she had found the Nagiko Tomato Mix from Erisco Foods to be extremely sweet the day before.
 

Her post sparked debate and compelled the management of the business to contact the police by filing a petition with the Inspector General.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will examine the registration of Erisco Foods' Nagiko Tomato Mix in 2021 as a result of the controversy, which also called into question the product's registration.