The Federal High Court in Kaduna has convicted a former Nigerian soldier, Ruth Ogunleye, over defamatory TikTok publications against the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Major General Oluyemi Thomas Olatoye, sentencing her to concurrent one-year prison terms and a total fine of ₦500,000.
However, the court suspended the custodial sentences for three years under a plea bargain agreement, subject to Ogunleye’s compliance with several conditions, including publishing a public apology in two national newspapers, deleting the controversial videos and undertaking never to make further statements about the senior military officer for the rest of her life.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Rilwanu Aikawa of Court One, Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, following a plea bargain agreement between the prosecution and the defendant under Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
According to conflict reporter Zagazola Makama, Ogunleye was initially arraigned on a five-count charge instituted by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, over alleged defamatory videos circulated through her TikTok account, @ogunleyeruthsavage, on or about August 14, 2026.
The prosecution accused her of intentionally transmitting and publishing videos containing allegations against Olatoye, which she allegedly knew to be false, with the intention of causing annoyance, insult, injury, hatred, ill will and damage to his reputation.
One of the charges concerned a TikTok video captioned, “Maj General Yemi Olatoye is responsible for my death”, in which Ogunleye allegedly displayed the photograph of the senior military officer.
Another count involved a publication captioned, “I go post your oga own too, your oga own dey my phone,” in which she allegedly referred to the NDA commandant and made statements concerning him.
The five-count charge also included allegations that Ogunleye claimed to possess intimate photographs of the military officer and threatened to publish materials concerning him.
The offences were brought under Section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended by the Cybercrimes Amendment Act 2024, and punishable under Section 24(2) of the Act.
However, following negotiations between the prosecution and defence, Ogunleye pleaded guilty to Counts One and Two, while the prosecution agreed to withdraw the remaining three counts.
Under the plea bargain agreement filed before the court, she was fined ₦250,000 on each of the two counts, bringing the total fine to ₦500,000 payable in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She was also sentenced to one year imprisonment on each count, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. The court subsequently suspended the custodial sentences for three years, subject to her compliance with the conditions contained in the agreement.
Among the conditions, Ogunleye is required to demonstrate remorse and undertake not to engage in similar conduct in the future.
She is also required to publish a public apology in two national daily newspapers within 14 days of sentencing. The apology must be in a form approved by counsel to the nominal complainant.
In what constitutes one of the most significant conditions of the agreement, the former soldier is prohibited from making any further statements, publications or communications concerning Olatoye, whether through spoken words, text messages, social media platforms or any other means.
The restriction also extends to communications made through third parties or under different names and social media accounts.
Ogunleye is equally prohibited from contacting the senior military officer, either directly or indirectly.
The agreement further requires her to delete, within 48 hours of her release from custody, all posts and videos concerning Olatoye from her TikTok account and any other social media accounts under her control.
She is also prohibited from republishing, sharing or distributing the materials to anyone.
Paragraph Six of the plea bargain agreement provides that any breach of the conditions contained in paragraphs Four and Five during the three-year suspension period could result in Ogunleye being brought back before the court to serve the suspended prison sentence in full, provided the court is satisfied that a violation has occurred.
The agreement also stipulates that her undertaking not to make further publications concerning or contact the nominal complainant will remain binding for life.
During the proceedings, Justice Aikawa reportedly asked Ogunleye whether she understood and accepted the terms of the plea bargain agreement.
She consented to the agreement and the issuance of a restraining order under Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, which will remain in force until further order of the court.
Her defence counsel, I.S. Yahaya, subsequently endorsed the terms of the agreement.
Speaking after the proceedings, Mohammed Sani Katu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who represented the nominal complainant, explained that the case was resolved through a plea bargain after Ogunleye’s lawyer approached the prosecution to negotiate an agreement.
Katu said the case initially involved five charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police following Ogunleye’s arrest.
“It is a matter between the Federal Police and Ruth Ogunleye. The matter has been trending on social media, as you can confirm,” he said.
According to him, the defence counsel proposed an arrangement that would bring the proceedings to an end without the parties having to undergo a full trial.
He explained that the negotiations resulted in a formal plea bargain under which the prosecution agreed to withdraw three counts in exchange for Ogunleye’s guilty plea to the remaining two.
“She pleaded guilty last week, and the matter was adjourned until today for parties to file what we call the plea bargain terms,” Katu said.
Explaining the sentence, the senior lawyer said the court imposed one-year imprisonment on each of the two counts and a fine of ₦250,000 per count.
“Having pleaded guilty, she was sentenced to serve the prison time of one year each on the two counts and then to pay a fine of N250,000 on each count, cumulatively N500,000,” he said.
He added that the custodial sentences were suspended for three years to allow the defendant to demonstrate remorse and comply with the conditions imposed by the court.
“Now, the sentence is suspended for three years so that we can put her under observation to see whether she will be remorseful. If within these three years she violates these terms, she will be brought back to serve the sentence,” he said.
Katu stressed that the suspension did not erase the prison sentences, warning that Ogunleye remained bound by the conditions throughout the three-year period.
He further explained that the restrictions were designed to prevent a recurrence of the conduct that led to her prosecution.
“After these three years again, in order that she will just go scot-free, the whole terms of the plea bargain will now also come into place that she should not do anything that has to do with the nominal complainant,” he said.
The lawyer also argued that Ogunleye’s guilty plea amounted to an admission that the allegations contained in the two TikTok publications were untrue.
“Don’t forget the charge, how it looks like. She said she has his pictures, she did whatever and so on and so forth.
“Now, for her to have pleaded guilty means that all that she said in that TikTok is not true. And on that basis, she was convicted and judgment was delivered,” he said.
He maintained that any violation of the court-approved conditions could expose Ogunleye to the suspended custodial sentences, subject to the court establishing that a breach had occurred.
The development has again brought attention to Ogunleye’s controversial dispute with senior military officers, which first attracted widespread public attention in 2024 after she accused officers of sexual harassment and alleged that her complaints were ignored by the military authorities.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported on October 26, 2026, that the former soldier had been arrested and transferred to Kaduna.
At the time, a source familiar with the development told the publication that Ogunleye had been moved from Lagos to Kaduna and was being detained while awaiting trial.
The source alleged that her arrest was ordered by the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (retd.), although the circumstances surrounding the alleged order and the specific charges against her were not immediately clear.
Ogunleye had previously gained public attention in 2024 after accusing Colonel I.B. Abdulkareem of sexual harassment and alleging that other senior military officers failed to protect her after she reported his alleged conduct.
Among the officers she accused of failing to intervene was Musa, who was then the Chief of Defence Staff and is currently Nigeria’s Minister of Defence.
In an interview monitored by SaharaReporters in September 2024, Ogunleye said she had sought the intervention of Musa and several other senior military officers but received no meaningful assistance.
“I sought intervention from people like General C. G. Musa, the current Chief of Defence Staff. I told him. I told so many officers. I sought redress but nothing was done because he is my senior, and nobody was ready to give me a listening ear,” she said.
In January 2024, she also accused Abdulkareem, Colonel G.S. Ogor and Brigadier General I.B. Solebo of intimidation and other forms of alleged maltreatment after she rejected what she described as unwanted sexual advances.
The Nigerian Army subsequently investigated her allegations and announced that it found no evidence to substantiate the sexual harassment claims against Abdulkareem.
The Army also maintained that Ogunleye was discharged from military service on medical grounds following medical assessments.
In October 2024, Ogunleye appealed for a review of the investigation, expressing concerns that someone might have tampered with its findings.
She also raised concerns about the stigma surrounding the allegations and the potential damage to her reputation.
Her conviction over the TikTok publications now brings a new legal dimension to the controversy, with the court’s conditions effectively barring her from making further public or private communications concerning Olatoye for the rest of her life.