A Federal High Court in Kaduna has convicted Ruth Ogunleye over defamatory TikTok videos against the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Oluyemi Olatoye, sentencing her to a N500,000 fine and one year’s imprisonment.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Rilwanu Aikawa sentenced Ogunleye to one year’s imprisonment on each of two counts, with the terms to run concurrently. However, the judge suspended the custodial sentence for three years under a plea bargain agreement.
The judgment followed an agreement between the prosecution and Ogunleye pursuant to Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
Ogunleye was initially arraigned on a five-count charge filed by the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, over allegedly defamatory videos circulated through her TikTok account, @ogunleyeruthsavage, in August 2026.
The prosecution accused her of intentionally transmitting and publishing videos containing allegations against Olatoye, knowing them to be false.
The publications allegedly sought to cause annoyance, insult, injury, hatred and ill will, as well as damage the senior military officer’s reputation.
One of the charges concerned a TikTok video captioned, “Maj.-Gen. Yemi Olatoye is responsible for my death”, in which Ogunleye allegedly displayed his photograph.
Another count related to 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.
The five-count charge also contained allegations that she possessed intimate photographs of the 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.
Information obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from the prosecuting counsel, Suraju Muhammad, of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Kaduna, showed that the case originated from a magistrate court in Kaduna.
Muhammad, the Officer-in-Charge of Legal at the Force CID, said the matter was referred to the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Force CID Annex, Kaduna, on September 7, following a direct criminal complaint.
He said the police began investigations by inviting Olatoye to formally adopt his petition.
According to him, investigators subsequently travelled to Lagos, where Ogunleye was arrested on September 12.
She was moved to Kaduna on September 13 and remanded in custody on September 14 by order of the magistrate court.
Muhammad said the police filed a five-count charge against her on October 5, after concluding the initial investigation.
However, following negotiations between the parties, they reached a plea bargain agreement under which Ogunleye pleaded guilty to the first two counts.
The agreement provided for the withdrawal of the remaining three counts following her conviction.
Dated November 9, the agreement was filed before the Federal High Court and formed the basis of the judgment.
Under its terms, Ogunleye was ordered to pay N250,000 on each count, bringing the total fine to N500,000 in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
She was also sentenced to one year’s imprisonment on each count, with the terms running concurrently but suspended for three years.
The agreement requires her to demonstrate remorse and undertake not to engage in similar conduct again.
It also directs her to publish a public apology in two national newspapers within 14 days of sentencing, in a form approved by counsel to the nominal complainant.
Another condition bars Ogunleye from making statements or publications relating to Olatoye or communicating with him through any means, including spoken words, text messages and social media.
The restriction also prohibits her from contacting him directly or indirectly, or communicating through another person.
The agreement further requires her to delete all posts and videos relating to Olatoye from her TikTok and other accounts under her control within 48 hours of her release from custody.
She is also prohibited from republishing or sharing the materials with anyone.
The agreement states that any breach of its conditions during the three-year suspension period could result in Ogunleye being brought back before the court to serve the suspended custodial sentence, if the breach is established.
It further provides that her undertaking not to publish anything about Olatoye or contact him will remain binding for life.
A restraining order under Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act is also to remain in force until further order of the court.
During the proceedings, Justice Aikawa asked Ogunleye whether she understood and accepted the terms of the plea bargain.
She confirmed her consent, including to the restraining order, while her defence counsel, J.S. Yahaya, endorsed the agreement.
Speaking to NAN after the proceedings, Mohammed Katu, counsel to the nominal complainant, said the case was resolved through a plea bargain.
Katu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Ogunleye’s lawyer approached the prosecution after her arraignment to negotiate an agreement that would end the proceedings without a full trial.
He said the negotiations resulted in an agreement recognised under Nigerian law, under which Ogunleye pleaded guilty to the first two counts while the prosecution agreed to withdraw the remaining charges.
“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 said the court subsequently delivered judgment based on the agreement filed by both parties.
He explained that the three-year suspension was intended to give Ogunleye an opportunity to demonstrate remorse and comply with the conditions.
“If within these three years she violates these terms, she will be brought back to serve the sentence,” he said.
The lawyer stressed that the suspension did not cancel the custodial sentence but made its enforcement dependent on compliance with the agreement.
He added that the restrictions on Ogunleye’s communication with Olatoye would remain binding beyond the three-year suspension period.
Katu said the conditions were necessary to prevent a recurrence of the conduct that led to the prosecution.
He also said Ogunleye’s guilty plea amounted to an admission of guilt on the two counts.
“Now, for her to have pleaded guilty means that all that she said in that TikTok is not true,” he said.
Katu said any violation of the court-approved conditions could expose Ogunleye to the suspended prison sentence, subject to the court establishing the breach.
