Justice Rita Offili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the remand of a lawyer, Ahmed Abdulrahman, and four others at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Area 10, Abuja, till November 10.
The order followed their arraignment by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) on an 11-count charge bordering on cyberbullying, advance fee fraud, and extortion of Senator Shehu Buba Umar, who represents Bauchi South and chairs the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
Others charged alongside Abdulrahman are Daure David, Ishaq Abubakar Muhammed, Abdulrashid Abdullahi Musa, and Nasiru Usman Abubakar. They all pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.
The prosecution counsel, Victor Okoye, asked the court to remand the defendants at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending trial, but the defence counsel, Affis Matanmi, applied for Abdulrahman’s bail, contending that his client was a lawyer of the Supreme Court and would not jump bail or interfere with the course of investigation.
However, Okoye opposed the bail application, alleging that the lawyer had committed two more acts of cyberbullying after he was previously released on administrative bail.
In a ruling, Justice Ajumogobia ordered that the defendants be remanded in the custody of the FCID pending November 10, to enable the defence to file further affidavits and replies to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit. The case was adjourned to the same date.
According to the indictment, Abdulrahman and others knowingly conspired, in the year 2025, to commit cyberstalking against Senator Umar. The lawyer was also accused of uploading a defamatory video on his TikTok and YouTube channels, where he falsely accused the Senator of sponsoring banditry a claim prosecutors said was untrue and aimed at inciting unrest.
One of the defendants, Daure David, was further accused of attempting to extort N5 million from the Senator on the pretext of preventing planned protests against him.
The offences are said to contravene various provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended in 2024).
