Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court in Lagos has presided over the trial of Olukeye Olalekan, a welding apprentice accused of transmitting child pornography, fraudulent impersonation, and sextortion amounting to N721,500.

The defendant, who opened his defence on Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to the 18-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC alleged that Olalekan used Instagram to create a group for distributing child pornography and retained N721,500 as proceeds from these unlawful activities.

Led by his counsel, O. Ojekovo, Olalekan testified that he was arrested on August 4, 2023, while returning from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp. He was taken to the EFCC’s Ikoyi office for interrogation, where he denied allegations of posting a minor’s nude photos.

Olalekan claimed he met the minor on Instagram in February 2023 and exchanged regular pictures but never requested or received explicit content. He also admitted to chatting with an individual named U.C. Andre on Snapchat, who sent him a $200 gift card and Bitcoin.

However, Olalekan insisted no explicit images were exchanged. He explained that the pictures he shared were sourced from adult websites and were not of the minor.

During cross-examination by prosecuting counsel Mrs Bilkisu Buhari, Olalekan admitted to using the usernames “hrm877” on Snapchat and “harry_angel” on Instagram, falsely claiming to be from North Carolina. He denied sending explicit images to solicit money but acknowledged receiving $100 from one individual.

The prosecution presented a statement dated August 7, 2023, in which Olalekan allegedly admitted to exchanging explicit images and collecting money. However, he claimed the statement was made under duress and that EFCC officials confiscated his phones. The prosecution plans to present video evidence of Olalekan writing the statement.

Justice Owoeye adjourned the case to February 4 for further trial.