A Nigerian woman’s brutally (and I mean brutally) honest review of a brand of tomato paste landed her in handcuffs and as the named defendant of a lawsuit accused of committing an egregious cybercrime.
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For the record, the evergreen debate over jollof rice in West Africa is similar to African American debates over how to make the best potato salad or any other staple dish. One of the main ingredients for jollof rice is tomato paste, so it’s safe to say making sure you use the right brand can be a make-or-break decision.
A report from CNN said 39-year-old entrepreneur Chioma Okoli took to Facebook in September to share her thoughts on a new tomato puree: Nagiko Tomato Mix by local company Erisco Foods Limited. To her audience of 18,000 followers, she slammed the product for tasting too sweet, per the company’s Facebook post.
“I went to but Tin tomatoes yesterday that I will use to make stew, but didn’t see my favourites, so I decided to buy this one. When I opened it, I decided to taste it omo! Sugar is just too much! Haa biko let me know if you hav used this tin tomato before because this is an ikegwuru situation!” read Okoli’s post.
Over 3,000 comments later, one counter-critic replied to her review, demanding she stop “spoiling her brother’s product.”
In response, Okoli snapped back saying, “Help me advise your brother to stop ki***ing people with his product, yesterday was my first time of using and it’s pure sugar.”
A week later, plainclothes cops popped up on her church in Lagos and detained her, per CNN.
Read what happened next from CNN:
In legal filings seen by CNN, the Nigeria Police Force alleged that Okoli used her Facebook account “with the intention of instigating people against Erisco Foods,” adding in a statement on March 7 that it had “unearthed compelling evidence” against her from its preliminary investigations.
According to the police, Okoli was charged with “instigating Erisco Foods Limited, knowing the said information to be false under Section 24 (1) (B) of Nigeria’s Cyber Crime Prohibition Act.”
Okoli was separately charged with conspiring with two other individuals “with the intention of instigating people against Erisco Foods Limited,” which the charge sheet noted was punishable under Section 27(1)(B) of the same act.
She risks a seven-year sentence if convicted of this charge.
Luckily, Okoli was able to bond out of jail but under the condition she issue a public apology to the company, which she still has not given. In addition to the criminal charges, she also faces a civil suit filed by the company on allegations that her comments caused several suppliers to sever ties with them, the report says.
Since September, the police attempted to arrest Okoli again and she’s filed a countersuit against the food company and the police claiming her arrest was a violation of her constitutional right to freedom of expression and personal liberty, the report says.
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