Court Grants Injunction Against Re-Arrest Of Erisco Reviewer Over Facebook Post
A Federal High Court in Lagos has barred the police and Erisco Foods from re-arresting a female customer, Chioma Okoli, who was detained for 3 days in September over her Facebook review of the company’s tomato product.
The interim injunction was granted by Justice Y.C. Bogoro following a rights enforcement suit filed by Okoli’s lawyer, Inibehe Effiong. He accused the police of violating her rights by arresting and detaining her based on a complaint by Erisco Foods.
In an affidavit, Okoli narrated how she was arrested in church without invitation and flown to Abuja where she was humiliated and forced to apologise by Erisco’s CEO in the presence of police officers.
Her counsel says the case is purely civil but was illegally escalated by the police to massage the ego of a billionaire. The court agreed that she must not be re-arrested pending determination of the fundamental rights suit.
Effiong says they are ready to confront any charges in court to show how frivolous the police can be when controlled by the rich. The judge adjourned the substantive suit seeking N500m compensation to February 1, 2024.
