Comedian AY Petitions For The Arrest And Prosecution Of Man Who Called Him Out With Defamatory Content

A Nigerian man named Mr Agozi Samuel who is allegedly based in Sierra Leone called out comedian AY on the social media with a video where he alleged the most shocking things (text of his allegation is contained in the petition)..

Comedian AY has petitioned for the arrest and prosecution of the man who posted a second video saying he only did it to be able to gather traffic to pay his rent.....
The werey also blamed Nigerians for believing and trending the video he posted....

Dear Sir,

PETITION AGAINST FOR MR. AGOZI SAMUEL FOR CRIMINAL DEFAMATION & CYBERSTALKING OF MR. RICHARD AYO MAKUN (ALSO KNOWN AS “AY”) – REQUEST FOR ARREST, INVESTIGATION & PROSECUTION

We are Attorneys to Mr. Ayo Makun (hereinafter referred to as “AY “or “our Client”) on whose behalf and express instructions we write to you to bring to your attention a matter of utmost concern for the offences of Defamation and Cyberstalking contrary to Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 24 (1) (a) & Section 24 (2) (a) of the Cybercrime (Protection, Prevention etc) Act, 2015 regarding the coordinated malicious and baseless publications targeted at our client by one Mr. Agozi Samuel (“the Suspect) via his Facebook account with the username, Agozi Commedy (Annexure 1).

A. BACKGROUND FACTS

1. AY is a highly acclaimed and well-respected Comedian, Actor, and Movie Producer with an exceptional career spanning over 15 years. Renowned for his comedic brilliance and versatile acting skills, AY has made a significant mark in the global entertainment industry. Throughout his illustrious career, our client has been honored with numerous prestigious awards, a testament to his outstanding talent and contributions to the entertainment world. These accolades reflect the industry's acknowledgment of his exceptional skills and creativity. Our client has unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and has consistently avoided involvement in immoral activities, earning him not only professional respect but also trust and admiration from peers and fans alike.

2. On Monday, 22 January 2024, our client was inundated with barrage of messages from concerned friends, family, and business partners regarding the circulation of a four minutes, thirty-two seconds (4:32) video (Annexure 2) which purportedly emanated from the Facebook page of one Mr. Agozi Samuel with the username, Agozi Commedy(“the page/account”) who is unknown by our client at all material times before the occurrence of this event.

3. In the four minutes, thirty-two seconds video titled “AY comedian were is your wife” which was posted on Saturday, 20 January 2024 on the page with a following of over 23,000 followers as can be seen in Annexure 1 to this letter. The Suspect, in a mischievous attempt to generate traffic and view for his page and to gain cheap popularity, knowingly and intentionally made various statements that are not only false and baseless but also capable of causing annoyance, insult, enmity, hatred, public outrage and needless anxiety to our client and his family and exposing our client to hatred and public ridicule.

4. The said publication alleges that our client is involved in an extra-marital affair with one, May Edochie, the wife of Yul Edochie and that our client was responsible for the marital crisis between May and her husband. For the purpose of clarity, the exact false, baseless and untrue statements knowingly and intentionally made at several intervals by Agozi Samuel in the said video are reproduced below as follows:

“You slept with May. Because of you, Yul Edochie and his wife separated
because you’re having an affair with Yul Edochie wife which is May. The
general public did not know what is happening even the Court case that is
going on the general public did not know.”

“I told you on 31st night that in this 2024, I will be the one to bring you down
for you to bring down in 2024. For you to bring down a home that lasted for
many years, you made them separated, you made the wife live different and
the husband. What are you looking for in somebody’s wife that your wife
does not have?”
“Your plan now is to go and marry May. I know all your plans, you want to
go and marry May. You think I don’t know?”
“This is what really happened. AY slept with May Edochie, that was why Yul
Edochie and May Edochie are not together today.”
“Remember our conversation on 31st night. I told you that I will be the one
to bring you down in 2024. Since you don’t want to apologise to Yul Edochie
and apologise to his fans because you’re the one masterminding everything.
What kind of wicked man are you? AY, what kind of wicked man are you?”
“And I will teach you and you will learn the hard way. Mark my word”

5. Furthermore, the Suspect, without any lawful basis or provocation from our client, intentionally uttered several malicious statements against our client in the said video. Specifically, the words are reproduced below:

“Remember our conversation on 31st night. I told you that I will be the one
to bring you down in 2024”
“And I will teach you and you will learn the hard way. Mark my word”

6. Also, the Suspect in the said video made several statements suggesting that he is well known by our client and they have a sort of rapport. We categorically state, on behalf of our client, that our client has no relationship with Agozi Samuel, has never spoken to him and he would not have any idea about his existence if not for the video. Hence, the video was made by the suspect to generate traffic to his page and all the claims about a conversation between the Suspect and our client on 31st December 2023 are totally false and untrue.

7. We find it expedient to bring to your attention that the Suspect is in the habit of
engaging in a pattern of harassment, intimidation, and dissemination of false
information through his Facebook page/account, about several celebrities in the
Nigerian entertainment industry. In support of this assertion is Annexure 3 to this letter which shows several videos wherein weighty statements have been made by the Suspect.

B. OUR PETITION

1. We state that the statements made by the identified Suspect in the video are false, untrue and baseless. Hence, the statements are defamatory to our client as the reputation of our client has been injured as defined in Section 373 of the Criminal Code Act. We, also state categorically that the act of the identified Suspect is contrary to and punishable under Section 375 of the Criminal Code Act which provides as follows: Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, any person who publishes any defamatory matter is guilty of misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who publishes any defamatory matter knowing it to be false is liable to imprisonment for two years.

2. Furthermore, the acts of the identified Suspect, Agozi Samuel, of knowingly and
intentionally disseminating in the referenced video, wrong information/message about our client via a computer system/network, namely his Facebook account with theusername, Agozi Commedy, is contrary to and punishable under Section 24 (1) (a) and Section 24 (2) (a) of the Cybercrime (Protection, Prevention etc) Act, 2015 which provide as follows: (1). Any person who knowingly or intentionally sends a message or other matter by means of computer systems or network that: (b) he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent: Commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable to conviction to a fine of not more than #7,000,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 3 years or to both such fine and imprisonment.(2). Any person who knowingly or intentionally transmits or causes the transmission of any communication through a
computer system or network – to bully, threaten or harass another person where such communication places another person in fear of death, violence or bodily harm or to another person commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction- in case of paragraph (a) and (b) of this subsection to imprisonment for a term of 10 years.

3. The nature of the activities of the suspect complained about above has damaged the reputation of our client, subjected him to public ridicule and caused him insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred and ill will from the entire public. The video as posted on the suspect’s Facebook page has reached a wide audience. As a matter of fact, as at the time of this letter, the post has garnered over 29,000 (Twenty-Nine Thousand) views with over 1,000 (One Thousand) interactions and the defamatory nature of the statements has triggered considerable distress for our client and inflicted lasting damage to his reputation.

4. The said statements, aspersions and comments made in the said video has caused our Client a great blow to his personal life, career, brand, his unwavering integrity and reputation among friends, business associates, followers, and the general public at large and we, the undersigned, firmly believe that swift legal action is warranted to address this gross violation of his rights and well-being.

5. We urge your office to take immediate action in investigating and apprehending the identified individual responsible for these criminal acts. The evidence of defamation, cyberstalking and cyberbullying have been provided in the annexures to this letter and we believe that the identified Suspect should be held accountable under the relevant legal provisions.
Yours faithfully,
Pentagon Partners Legal Practitioner