By Adewole Kehinde
Five days ago, I read a report on Sahara Reporters titled, “TikToker Timothy ‘Tumma’ Gabriel Held In Solitary Confinement Over 33 Days On IGP Egbetokun’s Orders Over Alleged Threat To Reputation.”
In that report, Sahara Reporters made lots of contradictory reportage such as “the IGP serves as the complainant, investigator, and prosecutor,” “… IGP Egbetokun is listed as the sole complainant.” etc.
In the words of Edward W. Robertson, “Insulting your elders is a good way to ensure you’ll never have the chance to become one.”
Defamatory remarks have serious legal and personal consequences for both the person making the statements (the defamer) and the individual or entity being defamed (the defamed).
TikToker Timothy Gabriel crossed the red line when he told Nigerians to resist illegal phone searches by officers, saying: “If any officer says he wants to check your phone, beat him. Even if the Commissioner of Police or President Tinubu says he wants to check your phone, beat him very well.”
In another video, he directly insulted IGP Egbetokun, calling him derogatory names and challenging the authorities to arrest him.
He also directed verbal attacks at President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
With the above defamatory remarks, TikToker Timothy Gabriel has committed an offence contrary to S.24(2)(a) and punishable under S.24(2)(c)(i) of the Cybercrimes (Prevention, Prohibition etc) Act 2025 (as amended) 2024.
The most annoying aspect of the publication by Sahara Reporters is the statement credited to TikToker Timothy Gabriel’s lawyer, S. M. Oyeghe, Esq., when he informed SaharaReporters that “the arrest was not based on any petition. Instead, the police acted on their own accord, as the allegations in the video implicate them and other influential Nigerians”.
Cyberstalking is a criminal offence under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015, specifically section 24, which criminalizes sending offensive or menacing messages or causing such messages to be sent, with the intent to cause harm or distress.
How can you cyberstalk President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun and still have the guts to say, “the arrest was not based on any petition. Instead, the police acted on their own accord?
As the court fixes March 24 for the case against TikToker ‘Tumma’ Gabriel, I hope this will teach others who think freedom of speech is a fundamental right lesson and know that freedom of speech is not absolute and can be limited in certain circumstances, primarily to protect others’ rights and prevent harm, such as in cases of incitement, defamation, or hate speech.
As it is now, TikToker ‘Tumma’ Gabriel is like a child who said President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun will not sleep, he too will also be awake.
Adewole Kehinde is the Publisher of Swift Reporters. 08166240846. @kennyadewole@gmail.com @kennyadewole
