Tambuwal’s aide booked for defaming Sokoto governor’s wife

The Sokoto State Chief Justice Court on Friday remanded Shafi’u Umar-Tureta in custody for allegedly spreading falsehoods 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 accused of spreading defamatory falsehoods and printing notoriously defamatory material.

The case was first mentioned on August 26, 2024, when the police prosecutor, Inspector Abdurahman Mansur, declared that the crimes violated the laws of the penal code.

According to the first information report, the accused committed the crimes on July 18, 2024.

The prosecution said: “The accused circulated a video of the governor’s wife, Hajia Fatima Aliyu, throwing money on the ground during her birthday.

“He also shared a document indicating that Governor Aliyu had failed his senior secondary school examination, scored F9 and was unable to speak English.”

The accused denied the charges, while the lead counsel, Mr Al’Mustafa Abubakar, made an oral request for bail, which the prosecution opposed.

Earlier, Abubakar had urged the magistrate to set a final hearing in the case, arguing that the prosecution should not hide under the guise of an investigation.

In her ruling, Chief Justice Fatima Hassan said that the only document available to her was the FIR and, recognising the nature of the offences, the defence lawyer had to file a formal bail application for the accused.

Hassan adjourned the case to a hearing on September 18, 2024 and ordered that the defendant be held in a detention center.