Ayotunde Richards, a gospel singer and former member of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), along with 23-year-old blogger Adewale Ajimosogbe, remain incarcerated seven days after they were granted bail by the Federal High Court in Lagos over allegations of cyberbullying and libel.
The duo stands accused of libelling the MFM General Overseer, Daniel Olukoya.
Reporters learned on Wednesday that they have yet to fulfill their bail conditions, despite the Lagos court granting them bail a week ago.
In a ruling on Wednesday, April 24, Presiding Judge Ambrose Allagoa stated that the charges against them were bailable. They were required to provide sureties with landed properties in Lagos, but as of now, they have not met these conditions.
Richards was arrested following a petition from Davidson Adejuwon, accusing him of cyberbullying and libelling Olukoya. The lawyer representing Mrs. Sanni, an aide to Olukoya handling his social media affairs, filed the petition.
Similarly, Ajimosogbe, the Publisher of PostReporters, was arrested in the Okitipupa area of Ondo State. He was accused of republishing a SaharaReporters’ story about Richards’ N15.5-billion-naira fundamental human rights case against Olukoya, Davidson Adejuwon, and the Nigeria police, with an added comment labeling Olukoya as a criminal.
Richards had also filed a suit against Olukoya over an alleged breach of his fundamental human rights, naming other respondents including Davidson Olaniran Adejuwon Esq, Superintendent of Police Tawose Ayoleyi Ajayi, and the Nigeria Police Force.
Richards described his detention at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Ikoyi, for eight days as illegal, oppressive, and an abuse of power.
Efforts to reach Ayotunde Richards’ wife, Sholabomi, and Adewale Ajimosogbe’s family for comments were unsuccessful, but a relative of Ajimosogbe revealed the challenge of meeting the bail condition, particularly the requirement of a surety with a landed property in Lagos, urging Nigerians for assistance to prevent their loved ones from languishing in prison.