A Chief Magistrate Court has remanded Shafi’u Umar-Tureta in Correctional centre custody for allegedly circulating falsehoods against Gov. Ahmad Aliyu and his wife through a social media platform.
Tureta was the Special Assistant to former Gov. Aminu Tambuwal and was charged with circulating injurious falsehood and engraving matter known to be defamatory.
Recall that the case was first mentioned on August 26, 2024, when the Police Prosecutor, Abdurahman Mansur, said the offences had contravened penal code law.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused person committed the offences on July 18, 2024.
The Prosecution said the accused person had circulated a video of the Governor’s wife, Hajia Fatima Aliyu, spreading money on ground during her birthday ceremony in spite of the present hunger and hardships faced by citizens.
Tureta was also allegedly accused of sharing a document that indicated Gov. Aliyu had failed his Senior Secondary School Examination, scored F9 and was incapable of speaking English.
The accused denied the allegations, while the lead Defence Counsel, Mr Al’Mustafa Abubakar, made an oral application for his bail which was objected to by the prosecution and magistrate reserved for ruling.
Earlier, Abubakar urged the Judge to fix the case for a definite hearing, arguing that the prosecution should not be hiding under the guise of investigation and it ought to be completed before the next sitting.
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 to Sept. 18, 2024, for a hearing and ordered the accused to be remanded in Correctional Center custody.
