Shafi’u Tureta, an aide to former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, has been remanded in correctional custody while awaiting a decision on his bail request.
Tureta was accused of spreading false and defamatory content on Facebook about the current Governor of Sokoto State, Ahmad Aliyu.
The accusations include circulating videos on July 18, 2024, showing the governor’s wife, Fatima Aliyu, spraying dollar notes at her birthday party, despite the hardships faced by citizens.
He was also accused of sharing a document claiming that the governor failed his Senior Secondary School Examination.
Tureta’s document suggested that Governor Aliyu scored F9 in English Language in the SSCE, and shared other videos mocking the governor’s fluency in English.
During Tureta’s arraignment at Magistrate Court 1 on Monday, the media was reportedly barred from the courtroom by order of the trial judge, Fati Hassan.
Shafi’u Tureta’s lawyer, Al’Mustafa Abubakar, informed reporters that Tureta denied the charges and requested bail.
The judge postponed the ruling on the bail application until September 6, 2024, and ordered Tureta to remain in custody until then.
Meanwhile, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Sokoto House of Assembly to stop a bill that seeks to amend parts of the state’s emirate council law.
