A final-year student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Maryam Isah Shehu, has been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged social media publication said to have tarnished the reputation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to the charge, Shehu allegedly published on her Instagram account on June 21, 2026, that EFCC officials assaulted a man identified as Ahmed Uthman under the instruction of a zonal director and allegedly collected N20 million from another person, Usman Iya Abbas.
The EFCC accused her of intentionally sending the message through a social networking service with the aim of tarnishing the commission’s reputation.
The charge was brought Under Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
During Thursday’s proceedings, her lawyer, Barrister Chiemela Ozioma Amalaha, sought to move an application for her bail.
Amalaha said that the defendant had already spent close to 30 days in custody before being brought before the court. He said the defence received the charge on Thursday morning and subsequently filed a bail application, which was also served on the prosecution.
However, the prosecution opposed the move, arguing that it had not had sufficient time to go through the application. Shehu pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Her lawyer applied for bail, but Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ordered that she be remanded at the Suleja Correctional Centre pending further proceedings.
The court adjourned the case until August 31, 2026, for hearing of the bail application and commencement of trial. Shehu had reportedly spent several weeks in EFCC custody before her arraignment.
-9News Nigeria.
