Shafi’u Umar Tureta, a former Special Assistant to ex-Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal, has been remanded in custody for allegedly defaming the current Sokoto State Governor, Ahmad Aliyu, and his wife, Hajiya Fatima Ahmed Aliyu, through defamatory content on social media.
Tureta faces charges of circulating injurious falsehoods and engraving defamatory material, according to a ruling by the Chief Magistrates Court in Sokoto on Friday.
The incident first came to light on August 26, when the police prosecutor, Inspector Abdurahman Mansur, presented the case.
Mansur stated that the alleged actions violated the penal code law, with the First Information Report (FIR) indicating that Tureta committed the offence on July 18, 2024.
Tureta, however, denied the allegations. His defence counsel, Al’Mustafa Abubakar, made an oral application for bail, but the prosecution objected, and the magistrate reserved her decision.
In her ruling, Chief Magistrate Fatima Hassan explained that the court only had the FIR as a document, and given the nature of the offence, a formal application for bail was required.
She adjourned the case to September 18 for hearing and ordered Tureta’s remand in a correctional facility pending further legal proceedings.
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