The Department of State Services has filed a three-count charge bordering on cybercrime and defamation against a man, Mubarak Abdullahi, over the circulation of a document allegedly forged to appear as a letter from President Bola Tinubu to the President of the United States.
Abdullahi, also known as Sardaunan Samari, was reportedly arrested on September 28 after sharing the document on his Facebook page with the caption, “ATIKU IS COMING.”
President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed the development in a post on X late Monday.
According to Onanuga, the suspect admitted during questioning that he shared the document and apologised for his actions.
He said the apology did not prevent the authorities from pursuing the case.
Onanuga stated that Abdullahi was brought before Chief Magistrate Court No. 10, Kabala Doki, Kaduna, which ordered his remand at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Kaduna.
He added that the DSS had filed a three-count charge against the suspect at the Federal High Court in Kaduna, although a date for his formal arraignment was yet to be fixed.
The presidential aide said the agency would continue to demonstrate its ability to track individuals involved in spreading misleading information online.
He was quoted as saying the DSS would show that it had the “capacity to trace those engaged in circulating misleading information in cyberspace.”
However, PUNCH Online reported that it could not independently verify claims that Abdullahi was a supporter of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Neither Atiku nor his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, had publicly reacted to the development as of the time of the report.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Omoyele Sowore criticised the arrest, describing it as an attempt to suppress freedom of expression.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Sowore questioned the use of a national security agency to arrest a citizen over an online publication.
“How low will you go, #OfficialAPCNg and the #officialABAT regime?” he asked.
Sowore described Abdullahi as a “hapless citizen” and condemned the arrest, arguing that it amounted to an attempt to silence dissenting voices.
He also warned that those responsible for such actions would eventually be held accountable.
“A day of reckoning is coming, when you too will be held accountable for your actions. That day is coming sooner than you think. Very soon!” he wrote.
