A 33-year-old computer programmer, Victor Ude Chikadibia, popularly known as Mastertruth, has been remanded in correctional custody after allegedly accusing an Imo State magistrate of using her office to protect a senior pastor, Apostle Love Judah of Truth Assembly International Churches accused of having an affair with his wife.
Ude was arraigned before an Owerri Magistrate Court on Thursday on five counts bordering on cyberstalking, criminal intimidation, threats to life and defamation.
The charges followed a series of explosive social media posts in which the programmer allegedly accused Magistrate Akunna Chidinma Opara of shielding Apostle Love Judah from allegations of sexual misconduct involving Ude’s wife.
Ude, who was arrested by police operatives in Abuja on August 20, 2026, had reportedly spent weeks in detention before being brought before the court.
According to the allegations contained in the case, Ude had worked under Apostle Judah for about nine years before his relationship with the cleric allegedly broke down.
Family accounts claimed the dispute erupted after Ude’s wife, Miracle, allegedly told him that she had been involved in an illicit relationship with the pastor.
The matter reportedly intensified after Miracle’s father confronted the cleric. It was further alleged that the pastor subsequently sought the intervention of Magistrate Opara, who is also said to be a pastor in the same ministry.
Ude allegedly reacted by launching a series of attacks against the magistrate on social media.
In some of the posts cited by the police, he allegedly described Opara as the pastor’s “illegal wife” and accused her of rising through the judicial system through fornication.
He also allegedly accused the magistrate of abusing her office to intimidate and imprison innocent people.
The programmer reportedly went further by posting voice notes interpreted by the police as threats to the magistrate.
In one of the posts, Ude allegedly warned that the pastor would not escape the allegations and accused him of sleeping with members’ wives.
He also reportedly urged women attending the pastor’s church to leave, while making several other allegations about the cleric’s activities.
The police said Ude’s posts were not limited to the pastor, alleging that he directly targeted Magistrate Opara with defamatory statements and threats.
According to the five-count charge marked OW/1418/C/2026, Ude allegedly sent life-threatening voice messages to the magistrate between 2020 and February 2026.
The prosecution further alleged that he published defamatory statements and images of the magistrate on July 17 and August 13, 2026, allegedly exposing her to ridicule, hatred and public contempt.
Among the allegations cited in the charges was that Ude described Opara as a “charge and bail Magistrate” who allegedly rose to the top through fornication.
He was also accused of posting her photograph in legal attire with a caption referring to her as an “illegal wife” of Apostle Judah.
Another allegation was that he portrayed the magistrate as abusing her judicial office to “undue and imprison innocent citizens.”
The final count accused him of describing her as a “shameless Magistrate” who allegedly abandoned her husband and four children for the pastor.
The prosecution, relying on provisions of the Cybercrimes Act, asked the court to remand Ude in custody.
His lawyer, Barrister Chinedu Agu, opposed the continued detention, drawing the court’s attention to the legal requirements governing remand proceedings.
But Magistrate Ariche Ihuaku Adaoha declined to grant bail.
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to grant bail in respect of the cybercrime offences because such offences are triable exclusively by the Federal High Court.
Relying on Sections 225 and 226 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Imo State, 2020, the court ordered that Ude remain in correctional custody pending the transfer of the case to the appropriate court.
Ude’s father, Caleb Ude, however, kicked against the police action.
He questioned why his son was allegedly detained for 14 days before being taken to court and argued that the police ought to have charged him before a court with jurisdiction over the alleged offences.
The case is expected to move to the appropriate judicial division for further proceedings.
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