Anambra Govt arraigns blogger over alleged defamation of Gov Soludo, son Ozonna

The Anambra State Government has arraigned blogger and publisher of Igbo Times Magazine and INews, Ejike Ofoegbu, over ‘criminal defamation and cybercrime’ against Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his family.

The state government disclosed the arraignment on Monday in a post on X.

According to the post: “Ejike Ofoegbu (Experience), the Owner and publisher of Igbo Times Magazine and I News, who published fake news against Gov. Soludo’s family arrives in Magistrate Court Amawbia, as his criminal defamation and cybercrime offence case continues.”

The development came a few days after Ofoegbu tendered a public apology and retracted a series of reports he admitted were fabricated.

Recall that Ofoegbu acknowledged that several stories concerning Governor Soludo and his son, Ozonna, were false and created to attract online traffic and generate financial gain.

In a statement titled ‘Public Apology and Full Retraction’, Ofoegbu admitted that the reports were neither based on verified facts nor sourced from the governor, his family or any official representative.

“I publicly admit that the stories I published concerning Governor Soludo and his son were completely fake, false, fabricated, and untrue. They did not come from Governor Soludo, his son, his family, or any official representative.

“They were not based on any verified facts or credible source, and they should never have been presented as news,” he stated.