The Department of State Security (DSS) has arraigned a 19-year-old woman, Miss Charlotte Delhi, before a Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa over alleged involvement in the sharing of the nude video of a former Permanent Secretary of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, Dr Walton Liverpool, on the social media with the intention to extort the sum of N15million from him.
The DSS, in the suit number FHC/YNG/33C/2021, filed a one-count charge against the defendant alleging that she engaged in cyber stalking with intention of blackmail which is contrary to section 24(2)c and punishable under subparagraph (b) of the cybercrime (prohibition, prevention etc) Act, 2015.
“That you, Charlotte Delhi, on the 14th day of September, 2021, in Yenagoa, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court for the purpose of extorting the sum of N15million from Dr Walton Liverpool, intentionally posted a video showing the naked appearance of the said Dr Walton Liverpool on a WhatsApp group tagged “Off Liverpool” with an Iphone7 plus mobile phone and GSM No. 08084267342.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Both counsels to DSS and the state government, Principal Legal officer of the DSS, Victor Uchendu Esq, and a former Attorney General of Bayelsa State and Counsel to the defendant, A.S. Arthur Esq, disagreed on the issue of application of bail but agreed that the trial should be accelerated.
Uchendu argued that the defence counsel had just few hours before the trial handed him the application for bail process and that the key witness to the case was not in good health, seeking the judge’s leave for adjournment.
“I was served the bail application two hours before the court sitting and there was no time for me to study the weighty allegations,” he said.
Arthur argued that the defence team would have loved for the presiding Judge to hear the application for bail based on the age and gender of the accused.
“She has been in detention for over 13 days and the DSS has refused to allow her visit from the lawyers.”
It will be recalled that the nude video of the former permanent secretary, was allegedly circulated on the social media by the accused reportedly after the refusal of his victim to succumb to blackmail.
Investigations, according to security sources, showed that the SIM which was used to post the nude video contained phone lines of alleged clients including some members of the State House of Assembly and top politicians in the state.
It was also revealed that the claim of the accused being 17 years of age was faulted by her birth certificate which indicated that she was born on 10th of October, 2002 which makes her 19 years of age.
