Relatives of the UK-based Nigerian blogger in custody seek legal redress
The family of Miss Dorcas Adeyinka, a blogger reportedly arrested on Wednesday for alleged cyberbullying and cyberstalking, accuses the Lagos State Police Command of conducting an unbalanced and prejudiced investigation. Adeyinka has been the target of various threats to her life, cyberstalking, and bullying from suspected Nigerian bloggers who use different social media accounts to engage in name-calling and public shaming.
A bill aimed at mandating Internet service providers to block access to materials depicting violent conduct, regulating illegal or restricted content regardless of the host, and removing intimidating images and videos shared online that negatively impact children, passed the second reading at the House of Representatives last Thursday.
Nevertheless, the family urged the authorities not to show bias in the case. They claimed that the individuals believed to be responsible for the blogger's online harassment were the same individuals suspected of potentially manipulating the police to carry out the blackmailing agenda they were unable to complete online.
The blogger's mother, Mrs. Yinka Badmus, stated, "My daughter was never summoned by the police for any crime before her detention. She went to the police station to report a traffic incident when individuals, accompanied by additional policemen, purportedly sought to apprehend her.
"These are the same individuals who had been harassing my daughter on Facebook and other social media platforms. No one summoned my daughter to the police station. She went there to file a complaint about a lady who damaged her car. We were astonished when they began claiming that some people accused my daughter of insulting the President and Inspector General of Police."
Supporting Badmus' assertion, the blogger's cousin, Toyin Adeyinka, alleged that certain bloggers were attempting to exploit the police to coerce her cousin into silence for standing up for the truth.
She remarked, "She has endured prolonged cyberbullying and stalking by certain Nigerian bloggers. Her explicit images were even circulated on social media, prompting an investigation by the UK police. One individual is currently incarcerated in the UK. There is a coordinated effort against Adeyinka, utilizing the Nigeria Police to intimidate her. Our family faced harassment on social media. These bloggers opted to involve the Nigeria Police because Adeyinka resisted their threats and bullying."
"These individuals were openly boasting on social media that they had the Nigeria Police under their control. Adeyinka has been subjected to numerous derogatory names on social media. She has been a resident of the UK since the age of three.
"While she was providing a statement at the station, some of these individuals recorded her, took pictures of her name displayed at the station, and proceeded to share it on social media in a mocking manner. This is a scheme to retaliate against Dorcas (Adeyinka) for truthfully blogging."
In a Facebook post by @Layo Harry Stubborn, a 14-second video of Adeyinka writing a statement inside what appeared to be a police station was observed by our correspondent, accompanied by a voice saying, “This is Dorcas Adeyinka in a Nigerian prison. She has been jailed. She has been jailed.”
In a separate 50-second video posted on Sunday on the Facebook page @Asipa Tubosun Martins, the UK-based Nigerian blogger was seen engaging in a confrontation with another woman outside a shop purportedly owned by one of the bloggers.
Responding to the arrest, the spokesperson for the state command, Benjamin Hundeyin, mentioned on his X handle on Saturday that the detention of the blogger, along with Folake Adekoya and a male, Sikiru Ayinde, was related to the alleged crime.
He additionally mentioned that the police had carried out a preliminary inquiry and secured a court remand order for the suspects until January 10, 2024.
He stated, “The police, after conducting preliminary investigations and substantiating the cases against the suspects, apprehended them for the consolidation and harmonization of the investigations for potential prosecution.”
Upon reaching out to the command spokesperson on Monday, our correspondent was unable to connect as he did not answer his mobile phone. As of the time of filing this report, there had been no response to the text message sent to him.
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