There was mild drama at the Federal High Court, Yenagoa as relatives of 18-year-old Charlotte Delhi lamented the undue pressure from some quarters on the suspect to plead guilty to the one–count charge of cyberstalking.
The Department for State Security (DSS) had, yesterday, arraigned Delhi before Justice Isa Hamma Adama Dashen on a one-count charge of cyberstalking contrary to Section 24(2)c and punishable under Subparagraph(ii)of the Cybercrime(Prohibition, Prevention etc Act 2015).
The relatives of the suspect, including the mother, had mobilised to court when they got wind that she was to be arraigned, contrary to prior information they had and that undue pressure had been mounted on her to plead guilty to the offence.
There were some verbal exchanges between Delhi’s relatives and some people outside the courtroom, whom they alleged to have mounted pressure on her. The family members vowed to resist all pressure and secure justice for their daughter.
The DSS said the defendant had allegedly recorded the video when she and Liverpool met at a hotel in Yenagoa and allegedly demanded N15 million.
Shortly after she pleaded not guilty, her counsel, Andrew Arthur, applied for her bail has been in DSS custody for 13 days.
In arguing the bail application, Arthur told the court that the defendant had earlier been arraigned for criminal defamation and granted bail by a Bayelsa High Court, but regretted that the DSS declined to release her on bail and chose to approach the Federal High Court.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. Victor Uchendu, in opposing the bail application, said that he was just served the bail application in the courtroom and needed time to study it and respond to the issues raised therein.
Justice Dashen remanded the defendant at the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Yenagoa, until October 21, to hear the bail application following the request of prosecution to study the application for possible grounds to oppose it.
