A Chief Magistrate Court has remanded Shafi’u Umar-Tureta in Correctional Center Custody for allegedly circulating falsehoods against the Governor of Sokoto State, 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.
The case was first mentioned on. Aug. 26, this year and the Police Prosecutor, Insp. Abdurahman Mansur, said the offences have contravened penal code law.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused person committed the offences on July 18, 2024.
The accused had denied the allegations, while the lead Defense Counsel, Al’Mustafa Abubakar, made an oral application for his bail which was objected to by the prosecution and magistrate reserved for ruling.
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 Defense Counsel needed to file a formal application for the accused person’s bail.
Hassan has adjourned the case to Sept. 18, 2024, for a hearing, and ordered the accused to be remanded in Correctional Center custody.
