Peter Ekemezie, a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, has been sentenced to six months in prison for publishing defamatory statements against Professor Alex Asigbo.
Ekemezie was found guilty on three counts of charges related to forgery and defamation. He was also given the option to pay a N300,000 fine.
Delivering the judgment at an Awka Magistrates’ court, His Worship, E.C. Chukwu noted that he considered that the defendant had spent one month in a psychiatric home and four months in a Correctional Centre.
During the trial, Professor Asigbo testified that Ekemezie had forged his signature after he declined to provide a witness statement. Instead, Asigbo had advised Ekemezie to obtain a subpoena.
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As a result of this incident, Ekemezie went on to write and share defamatory statements about Asigbo on various social media platforms, including Facebook.
It remains unclear whether Ekemezie was still employed as a lecturer at Nnamdi Azikiwe University by the time he was sentenced.