An Owerri Magistrate Court presided over by His Worship, Mrs Ariche Ihuaku Adaoha, has remanded a 33-year-old computer programmer, Victor Ude Chikadibia, popularly known as Mastertruth, in prison custody over allegations of cybercrime, criminal intimidation, and defamation directed at a sitting judicial officer.
Ude was remanded in correctional custody on Thursday, following his arraignment by the Imo State Police Command on a five-count charge bordering on cyberstalking, threats to life, and public ridicule under Section 24(2)(a) and (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended in 2024.
His remand comes after weeks of detention following his arrest by police operatives in Abuja on August 20, 2026.
The arrest stemmed from a series of viral social media posts in which he accused an Imo State Magistrate, His Worship Akunna Chidinma Opara, of leveraging her judicial office to shield a senior clergyman, Apostle Love Judah of Truth Assembly International Churches, from allegations of sexual misconduct against Ude’s wife.
According to family accounts, Ude had served under Apostle Judah for nine years before a rift ensued after his wife, Miracle, allegedly disclosed that the clergyman had engaged in an illicit sexual relationship with her. The dispute escalated when Miracle’s father reportedly confronted Apostle Judah, who allegedly discussed the matter with Magistrate Akunna, who also serves as a pastor in the ministry.
Subsequent interventions by Magistrate Akunna prompted Ude to publish scathing posts on social media, in which he captioned photographs of her in judicial and legal attire as an “illegal wife” of the pastor and a “charge and bail Magistrate who rose to the top through fornication,” alleging she used her position to intimidate citizens. He also issued recorded voice notes warning the magistrate to “wait for the worst”.
One of the posts reads: “How can a pastor sleep with his member’s wives and his pastor’s wives finish and he wants to go free just like that..NEVER!!!
“Apostle Love Judah! Your Magistrate one of your illegal wives “his worship AKUNNA CHIDINMA OPARA” will never save you this time…
“Even Linda (PASTOR SHALLOM JUDAH) your legal wife in AMERICA with the money she thinks she has will not save or cover you this time.
“If you know, your WIFE or MOTHER or DAUGHTER is still going to APOSTLE LOVE JUDAH’S Church, Truth Assembly International Churches in Owerri, IHECHIOWA Street Ikenegbu Imo State, better do anything possible to take them out of his Church, he is diabolic, God delivered me from him, when I relocated to resurrect his church in Niger state village that has fallen, that was when my deliverance started happening, if I didn’t relocate to Niger state I will still be in Owerri under his diabolic spell.
“He is holding 23rd Immoral International Convention, this is one of his Annual diabolic movements, Apostle Love Judah will say he will be teaching deep mysteries from the Bible, that’s when he is going to work on you to believe him as God’s Prophet….
“If APOSTLE LOVE JUDAH teaches you about Holiness ehh.. you will never believe he sleeps with people’s wives, he will be teaching Holiness and Heaven and he will be crying on the altar, DON’T be DECEIVED by his TEARS on the ALTAR, That’s one of his strategies of manipulating you to believe him as God’s prophet.”
In another post on July 17, which was also reposted on July 19, the emotionally traumatised Ude wrote: “The evil of this so called Apostle Love Judah of TRUTH ASSEMBLY INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES at No.184 IHECHIOWA STREET OFF MCC ROAD IKENEGBU EXTENSION.
He also accused the magistrate of having an affair with the cleric.
Following widespread media coverage and interventions by human rights organisations over Ude’s prolonged detention, the police hurriedly arraigned him at Court 3 of the Owerri Magisterial District.
In the charge sheet marked OW/1418/C/2026, signed by Elder T. Veke Esq. of the Directorate of Legal Services, Imo State Police Command, which SaharaReporters obtained on Friday, the prosecution alleged that Ude intentionally sent life-threatening voice messages to Magistrate Akunna between 2020 and February 2026, and that he separately published defamatory statements and images on July 17 and August 13, 2026, aimed at exposing the magistrate to public ridicule and hatred.
The five counts, all brought under Section 24(2) of the Cybercrimes Act, accuse Ude of threatening to kill Magistrate Akunna via voice note; of publicly describing her as a “charge and bail Magistrate who rose to the top through fornication”; of captioning a photograph of her in legal attire as an “illegal wife” of Apostle Judah; of captioning a photograph of her in judicial robes as a magistrate who abuses her office to “undue and imprison innocent citizens”; and of describing her as a “shameless Magistrate who left her husband with four children” for the pastor.
During the court proceedings, which was conducted with legal representation, the police prosecutor applied for the defendant to be remanded in correctional custody.
Counsel to the defendant, Barrister Chinedu Agu, who arrived late after being informed of the arraignment at short notice, opposed the continued detention, drawing the court’s attention to statutory requirements governing detention and remand proceedings.
Delivering her ruling, Mrs Ariche, declined the bail application on the grounds that the Magistrate Court lacked jurisdiction to grant bail for offences brought under the Cybercrimes Act, which are triable exclusively by the Federal High Court.
Pursuant to Sections 225 and 226 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Imo State, 2020, the court ordered that Ude be remanded in prison custody pending the formal transfer of the case to the appropriate judicial division.
Victor’s father, Mr Caleb Ude, condemned the police action, wondering why the police, after illegally detaining his son for 14 days, did not charge him before a court of competent jurisdiction rather than a Magistrate Court known to lack jurisdiction over charges brought under a federal statute.