The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday arraigned a final-year student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Maryam Isah Shehu, before the Federal High Court in Abuja for social media post allegedly aimed at tarnishing its reputation.
The comission also arraigned Abubakar Abdulhamid on a similar but sepearate charge.
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They appeared before Judge Joyce Abdulmalik to answer to one count each.
They both pleaded not guilty when their charges were read to them.
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According to a statement on Thursday by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Ms Shehu was arraigned on one count of publication on her Instagram account, @maryamshehu.
The commission alleged that on 21 June, she published a message claiming that EFCC officials assaulted Ahmed Uthman on the instruction of a zonal director who allegedly collected N20 million from one Usman Abbas.
The EFCC said the publication was intended to tarnish its reputation and violated Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
Mr Abdulhamid was also charged under the same provision.
The EFCC alleged that in May, he used his X account, @shuraimi, to publish an image designed to resemble an official EFCC arrest placard.
The image allegedly portrayed one Sadeeq Kabeer as an EFCC suspect, with the inscription: “His only crime was selling laptops at an affordable price to students.”
The commission stated that the publication was intended to tarnish its reputation.
Defendants seek bail
After the defendants entered their pleas, prosecution lawyer Elizabeth Alabi asked the court to fix a date for trial.
She sought an order remanding Ms Shehu in the Suleja Correctional Centre, Niger State.
But her lawyer, C.O. Amalaha, told the court that a bail application had been filed. She urged the judge to grant Ms Shehu bail on liberal terms.
Also, lawyer to Mr Abdulhamid, Adamu Adamu, also informed the court of his client’s bail application. He asked that his client be kept in EFCC custody.
Court order
Mrs Abdulmalik ordered Ms Shehu to be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre and Mr Abdulhamid in Kuje Correctional Centre.
The judge adjourned the case until 31 August for hearing of the bail applications and commencement of trial.
The EFCC noted that the prosecution was part of efforts to bring alleged blackmailers, fabricators and people who deliberately tarnish the commission’s image to justice.
Lawyers question EFCC’s action
The prosecution has, however, attracted criticism from lawyers who questioned whether the EFCC has the statutory authority to prosecute allegations arising from defamation and social media publications.
Abuja-based lawyer and activist Hamza Dantani, in a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday, urged the commission to operate within the limits of its enabling law.
Mr Dantani stated that defamation did not ordinarily become an economic or financial crime simply because it was committed through social media.
“The EFCC cannot assume jurisdiction over every allegation simply because the matter is controversial, politically sensitive or attracts public attention,” he said.
He also criticised the publication of suspects’ photographs before conviction, arguing that it could undermine their constitutional rights to dignity, privacy and the presumption of innocence.
Mr Dantani cited Sections 34(1), 36(5) and 37 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as Sections 8 and 15 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He noted that taking a photograph of an arrested person for investigative purposes was different from publicly publishing the person’s image in a manner that could amount to reputational punishment.
“The EFCC must remain an EFCC, not a general-purpose police force, not a civil-defamation tribunal and certainly not a court of law,” he said.
He called on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to review the matter and ensure that the EFCC operates within its statutory mandate.
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Another lawyer, Abba Hikima, also urged Mr Fagbemi, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to intervene.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Mr Hikima said Ms Shehu had spent 35 days in EFCC custody before the commission filed the charge against her.
He questioned why it took the commission that long to file a charge arising from a social media publication.
Mr Hikima also stated that Ms Shehu had raised an allegation of corruption involving an EFCC zonal director and questioned whether the allegation had been independently investigated.
He urged the authorities to investigate the allegation against the EFCC official and called for Ms Shehu’s release on bail.
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