A Chief Magistrate Court in Sokoto State, on Friday, remanded Shafi’u Umar-Tureta in correctional centre custody for allegedly circulating falsehood against Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu and his wife through a social media platform.
Tureta was the Special Assistant to former Governor Aminu Tambuwal and was charged with circulating injurious falsehood and engraving matter known to be defamatory.
The case was first mentioned on August 26, 2024, when the police prosecutor, Inspector Abdurahman Mansur, said the offences contravened penal code law.
According to the First Information Report, the accused person committed the offences on July 18, 2024.
The prosecution said, “The accused person circulated a video of the governor’s wife, Hajia Fatima Aliyu, spreading money on the ground during her birthday.
“He also shared a document that indicated Gov. Aliyu had failed his Senior Secondary School Examination, scored F9 and is incapable of speaking English.”
The accused had denied the allegations, while the lead defence founsel, Mr Al’Mustafa Abubakar, made an oral application for his bail which was objected to by the prosecution.
Earlier, Abubakar urged the magistrate to fix the case for a definite hearing, arguing that the prosecution should not be hiding under the guise of investigation.
In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Fatima Hassan said the only document before her was the FIR and in recognition of the nature of the offences, the defence counsel needed to file a formal application for the accused person’s bail.
Hassan adjourned the case till September 18, 2024, for a hearing and ordered the accused to be remanded in correctional centre custody.
