PRANK GONE TOO FAR

Pranksters are fast becoming a problem.

In recent days, pranksters have become prominent among online influencers, as people turn to them for entertainment. They are known for their ability to prank unsuspecting members of the society and elicit laughter from them and their viewers. However, not all of these pranks or stunts have turned out to be funny as intended. Some of these pranksters have now been seen to be causing nuisance “unknowingly”, while others are “unknowingly” committing criminal offences.

In the bid to create content, some have resulted in using very vulgar words on their victims, sexually and emotionally abusing people, and defaming unsuspecting members of the public. These contents hit the internet, get the intended viewership, and Nigerians move on with few or no one talking about the effects these contents have on the lives of the victims or unknown participants.

The case of Mr. Maruf Abdullahi (aka Trinity) is one too many.

I will give a few examples.

Example 1

A colleague once told me of a prank she saw on facebook wherein the “prankster” had asked a girl if she was in a relationship, to which she answered yes. He then asked if she would have sex with him for a particular sum, and after she thought hard about it, she agreed she could sleep with him for the said amount. Only to be told that it was a prank. This looks pretty straight forward. People would fail to realize that there was defamation of character here, presenting the young lady as one of easy virtue and such video could affect her relationship negatively. Secondly, publication without consent was improper, another civil wrong that the young lady can sue for. The fact that you informed her that it was a skit or prank does not make it less wrong.

Example 2

A skit that had a young lady telling a man that she was interested in him and would love to have sex with him. The man follows her to a particular location, wherein some young men (the pranksters) armed with harmful objects were in hiding, waiting to ambush him. Pretending to be cult boys, they asked him to undress because “he had attempted to go out with their babe”.  After he undressed to his underwear, they informed him that it was a prank. If this isn’t harassment, then what is? The man could sue for harassment, assault and defamation. The young men could also be charged by the police for physical assault, pornography, threat to life, and assault causing grievous bodily harm. All these are offenses against the law that have jail terms as punishment.

Example 3.

A skit where a prankster pours a bucket of dirty water on an innocent passerby just to get their reaction, only to inform them that it is a prank. Or a skit where people are walking and going about their daily life and one does something that scares them and makes them run for safety. These constitutes public nuisance which is a criminal offence. The law (police) can also arrest and charge the person for breach of peace.

The list goes on and on.

Back to Mr. Maruf Abdullahi. How it is that someone does not know that exposing a child to such s*xual act is morally wrong and distasteful? Moreover, Section 23 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015 prescribes punishment for child pornography. Section 23(3) ( c ) of the Act say that anyone who recruits, induces, coerces, exposes or causes a child to participate in pornographic performances or profits from or otherwise exploits a child for such purpose has committed an offence and is liable to not more than 15 years and a fine of not more than N25,000,000. This means that the individual upon conviction will not only serve jail term, but also pay whatever sum the court orders. I talked about this on my YouTube channel some months ago. Click link here.

Asking a 10-year-old child the colour of your male organ for content purpose falls nothing short of causing a child to participate in pornography and profiting from it.

This simply means that skit makers have to tread with caution, it likewise means that if anyone invades your privacy or pulls any form of stunt on you, do not hesitate to invite the law into this. This menace just has to stop.