A lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Peter Ekemezie has been sentenced to six months imprisonment for publishing defamatory statements against one Prof. Alex Asigbo.
Ekemezie, convicted on three counts of charges bordering on forgery and defamation, was given an option of 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.
Prof. Asigbo had told the court that Ekemezie forged his signature when he refused to give him (Ekemezie) a witness statement but instead advised him to procure a subpoena.
Asigbo said this led to Ekemezie writing and publishing a series of defamatory statements against him on Facebook and other social media platforms.
However, it was unclear if Ekemezie was still a lecturer at Unizik by the time he was sentenced.