- Court reserves ruling on actress’s bail utility until November 6; defence counsel faults prosecution
Wale Igbintade
Nollywood actress, Doris Ogala, yesterday knelt earlier than a Federal High Court in Lagos to apologise for her unruly conduct throughout an earlier sitting however was returned to the Kirikiri Correctional Centre after the court docket reserved ruling on her bail utility until November 6, 2026.
Ogala, who’s dealing with costs bordering on alleged cyberstalking, cyberbullying and tried extortion involving Pastor Chris Okafor, expressed regret earlier than Justice Akintayo Aluko, promising to not repeat the conduct that disrupted proceedings on Wednesday.
Her apology got here as her counsel, Marshal Abubakar, introduced plans to petition the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, in search of the withdrawal of the fees, which he described as arising from a non-public disagreement between former lovers.
During Friday’s proceedings, Ogala personally appealed to Justice Aluko for forgiveness, expressing remorse over her behaviour on the earlier sitting.
“I am very sorry, my Lord. I apologise for my bad behaviour. I have never been to prison before and I wasn’t expecting that I would do that,” she informed the court docket.
She added: “I regret my action and I apologise to my Lord. I tender my apologies wholeheartedly. Sorry, this will never happen again going forward.”
Her apology adopted the choose’s expression of displeasure over the incident, throughout which the actress allegedly shouted and sang in the courtroom, forcing the court docket to droop proceedings.
Justice Aluko stated her conduct prevented the court docket from listening to greater than seven different instances scheduled for that day.
The choose disclosed that he had thought-about committing her for contempt however finally determined towards it, regardless of believing that her conduct warranted punishment.
“She should have been given some form of imprisonment, right, on that day, but I kept my cool and I rose,” the choose stated.
He additional noticed that the actress may have confronted at the least two months’ imprisonment for obstructing court docket proceedings.
Justice Aluko additionally faulted the defence counsel for failing to acknowledge the incident and clarify his consumer’s conduct earlier than continuing with arguments on the bail utility.
He recalled that he had personally directed an accelerated listening to of the appliance, taking steps to make sure that it was heard inside 48 hours.
The choose expressed disappointment that the disruption occurred regardless of the court docket’s efforts to expedite the willpower of the bail utility.
Abubakar additionally apologised to the choose, describing the incident as regrettable and assuring the court docket that such behaviour was inconsistent together with his consumer’s character.
Following the apologies, the court docket proceeded to listen to arguments on the bail utility.
Moving the appliance, Abubakar urged the court docket to confess Ogala to bail, arguing that the prosecution had successfully acknowledged her entitlement to bail by proposing situations for her launch in its counter-affidavit.
He submitted that the prosecution’s place indicated that it was not against her launch however was involved in regards to the situations to be imposed.
The lawyer urged the court docket to train its discretion judicially and impose cheap situations that may not unnecessarily prohibit the actress’s liberty pending trial.
However, prosecution counsel, Tolulope Mokolu, urged the court docket to impose stringent bail situations, citing issues in regards to the defendant’s social media actions and their potential impression on witnesses.
Mokolu argued that Ogala’s continued use of social media may affect witnesses and intervene with the administration of justice.
Although acknowledging her constitutional proper to freedom of speech and expression, the prosecution maintained that such rights weren’t absolute and have to be exercised throughout the limits of the regulation.
It urged the court docket to limit her contact with witnesses and entry to their addresses, in addition to stop her from making social media publications able to influencing witnesses or undermining the proceedings.
The prosecution additional argued that any breach of the proposed bail situations ought to appeal to acceptable sanctions.
After listening to the submissions of each events, Justice Aluko reserved ruling on the bail utility until November 6, 2026.
Ogala was subsequently returned to the Kirikiri Correctional Centre pending the court docket’s choice.
Speaking after the proceedings, Abubakar faulted the prosecution of his consumer, arguing that her arrest, investigation and subsequent arraignment constituted an infringement of her basic rights, significantly her constitutionally assured proper to freedom of expression.
He insisted that the dispute shouldn’t have been introduced earlier than a prison court docket, sustaining that allegations of defamation ought to ordinarily be addressed by means of civil proceedings.
The lawyer argued that the disagreement arose from a non-public relationship between Ogala and Pastor Okafor, whom he described as former lovers.
He stated: “I strongly consider that the arrest of Doris Ogala, the investigation so far as this matter is worried, and the following submitting of costs towards her are an affront to her basic rights.
“The subject matter that led to this entire transaction in this matter was purely a matter between a boyfriend and a girlfriend. Where former lovers who fell apart, and one of the lovers felt cheated, and she reacted through the platform that she has.”
Abubakar argued that the state shouldn’t ordinarily intervene in non-public disagreements by deploying prison regulation towards people expressing their grievances.
According to him, democracy accommodates dissent and criticism, together with expressions which may be thought-about offensive or vulgar.
“The idea of criminalising free speech in this country has been contemptuous. We will never shy away from condemning the idea behind having a law that seeks to, or has, a chilling effect on Nigerians as it relates to how they should express themselves in a democracy,” he stated.
The defence counsel additionally referred to as for the removing of provisions of the Cybercrimes Act which, based on him, criminalise freedom of expression.
He recalled that authorized challenges had been instituted towards provisions of the Cybercrimes Act 2015, significantly Section 24, in 2022.
He stated two separate judgments had declared the provisions unconstitutional on grounds that they violated the precise to freedom of expression and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He alleged that regardless of the National Assembly’s subsequent modification of the Act in 2024 to handle issues surrounding the criminalisation of free speech, safety companies had continued to use the regulation with out adequately reflecting the amendments.
Abubakar maintained that anybody who thought-about himself defamed ought to institute a civil motion slightly than resort to regulation enforcement companies to arrest and prosecute critics.
He stated he would formally petition the AGF to discontinue the prosecution, insisting that the fees ought to not have been filed in the primary place.
Ogala was arraigned on Wednesday by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation on three counts bordering on alleged cyberbullying, cyberstalking and tried extortion involving Pastor Okafor.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offences had been dedicated between September 2024 and March 2026.
Mokolu informed the court docket that Ogala allegedly revealed nude and intimate pictures of Okafor on her social media accounts with out his consent, exposing him to embarrassment, emotional misery and reputational harm.
The actress, nonetheless, pleaded not responsible to the fees.
