Court Convicts Ruth Ogunleye Over TikTok Defamation Of NDA Commandant, Fines Her N500,000

The Federal High Court in Kaduna has convicted ex-soldier Private Ruth Ogunleye over defamatory TikTok publications against the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Thomas Olatoye, sentencing her to a total fine of N500,000 and two years’ imprisonment, with the custodial term suspended for three years.

The court also ordered Ogunleye to publish a public apology in two national daily newspapers within 14 days, while permanently restraining her from making any publication or contacting the senior military officer, directly or indirectly.

Justice Rilwanu Aikawa of Court One, Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial Division, delivered the judgment on Tuesday following a plea bargain agreement between the prosecution and the defendant under Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.

Ogunleye was initially arraigned on a five-count charge instituted by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olatunji Rilwan Disu, over alleged defamatory videos circulated through her TikTok account, @ogunleyeruthsavage, on or about August 14, 2026.

The prosecution accused her of knowingly transmitting false allegations against the NDA commandant with the intention of causing annoyance, insult, injury, hatred, ill will and damage to his reputation.

One of the charges involved a TikTok video captioned, “Maj General Yemi Olatoye is responsible for my death,” in which she allegedly displayed the officer’s photograph.

Another count concerned a publication captioned, “I go post your oga own too, your oga own dey my phone,” alongside allegations that she claimed to possess intimate photographs of the commandant and threatened to publish materials concerning him.

The offences were prosecuted 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 parties, Ogunleye pleaded guilty to Counts One and Two, while the prosecution agreed to withdraw the remaining three counts.

Under the terms of the agreement, the court imposed a fine of N250,000 on each of the two counts, bringing the total monetary penalty to N500,000 in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

She was also sentenced to one year imprisonment on each count, with the terms ordered to run concurrently, but suspended for three years subject to strict compliance with the conditions of the plea bargain.

The court-approved agreement requires Ogunleye to demonstrate remorse and undertake not to engage in similar conduct, while also prohibiting her from making any statement, publication or communication concerning the commandant through social media, text messages, spoken words or any other medium.

The restriction extends to communications through third parties or accounts operated under different names, while she is also barred from contacting the nominal complainant directly or indirectly.

In addition, she is required to delete all posts and videos relating to the commandant from her TikTok and other accounts under her control within 48 hours of her release from custody and is prohibited from republishing or sharing the materials.

The agreement further stipulates that any breach of the conditions during the three-year suspension period could result in her being brought back before the court to serve the suspended prison term, subject to judicial determination of the breach.

The undertaking not to publish further materials about or contact the commandant is, however, stated to remain binding for life.

During the proceedings, Justice Aikawa sought to ascertain whether Ogunleye understood and accepted the terms of the plea bargain, to which she consented.

She also consented to the issuance of a restraining order under Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act, to remain in force until further order of the court, while her defence counsel, Mr I. S. Yahaya, endorsed the agreement.

Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, counsel to the nominal complainant, Mr Mohammed Sani Katu, SAN, said the case was resolved through a plea bargain initiated after the defendant’s lawyer approached the prosecution for an amicable resolution.

Katu said the matter, which had attracted considerable attention on social media, initially involved five counts 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 defendant’s lawyer proposed an understanding that would bring the proceedings to an end without necessarily going through a full trial, leading to the formal plea bargain agreement recognised under Nigerian law.

He disclosed that the parties agreed for Ogunleye to plead guilty to two counts, while the prosecution withdrew the remaining three.

“She pleaded guilty last week, and the matter was adjourned until today for parties to file what we call the plea bargain terms,” he said.

Katu explained that the court subsequently imposed the agreed penalties, including the concurrent one-year imprisonment terms and the N250,000 fine on each 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 said the suspension of the custodial sentence was intended to give the defendant an opportunity 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,” Katu said.

The senior advocate stressed that the suspended sentence had not been cancelled, warning that any violation of the agreement could expose Ogunleye to imprisonment, subject to the court establishing that a breach had occurred.

He added that the lifetime restrictions were designed to prevent a recurrence of the conduct and protect the nominal complainant from further publications or contact.

Katu maintained that Ogunleye’s guilty plea and conviction were significant, noting that she had admitted the offences contained in the two counts to which she pleaded guilty.