Why police dropped charges against university student accused of defaming Aisha Buhari - Lawyer

Police have dropped charges against Aminu Adamu, an undergraduate student at the Federal University of Dutse in Jigawa state, who was remanded in custody on Tuesday for defaming Aisha Buhari, the first lady of the Nigeria.

The dropping of the lawsuit according to the student's lawyer, Festus Agu, comes a day after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) threatened a nationwide protest to demand the unconditional release of Mr. Adamu .

In a statement Thursday to its members, the president of the association, Usman Barambu, said that the demonstration would take place next Monday.

“We have consulted and consolidated and neither has yielded desirable results in the search for freedom of Aminu Adamu Muhammed, a student of Federal Dutse University, from where the protest will begin as follows: Monday December 5, 2022, nationwide."

Mr. Barambu vowed that the protest would continue until the student was released "unconditionally".

Mr. Adamu, who is studying environmental management at university, was arrested on November 18 in Dutse, northwestern Nigeria, and transported to Abuja.

Police accused Mr. Adamu of using his Twitter handle to defame Ms. Buhari.

After incarcerating the student for almost two weeks, the police brought him on Tuesday, November 29, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama.

He was indicted on one count of "defamation, cyberstalking and conspiracy", to which he pleaded not guilty.

Trial Judge Yusuf Halilu had adjourned Mr. Adamu's trial until January 30, 2023. But the case was adjourned to next Monday, after the defendant's lawyer, Mr. Agu, argued that his client was charged for his final year exams. 5 in December 2022.

However, in a WhatsApp message to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday evening, Mr. Agu said: "(The) First Lady has withdrawn the charge against Mr.) Aminu."

This newspaper reported how a team of police detectives and the State Security Service (SSS) tracked and arrested Mr. Aminu in Dutse.

Acting on instructions from Ms. Buhari's aide-de-camp (ADC), Usman Shugaba, a tracking team led by Festus Josiah, apprehended the student in Dutse on November 18.

Past

In the allegedly offensive tweet, Mr. Adamu posted a chubby photo of Ms. Buhari with a caption in Hausa saying, "Mom feeds on poor people's money."

The tweet was posted on June 8 but Mr. Adamu, followed by a team of detectives, was arrested in Dutse, northwestern Nigeria, on November 18 and taken to Abuja.

In the single count charge: CR/89/2022 and dated November 23, the police allege that Mr. Adamu "between May and June 2022 within the jurisdiction of this court, intentionally opened a Twitter account with the name…Catalyst and screenshot the photo of Her Excellency Hajia Aisha Buhari and written on it in Hausa language…roughly translated into English to mean “Mom embezzled money intended for the poor for satisfaction” and posted it to your Twitter account above knowing that they are false and may affect its reputation."

Police said the alleged offense violated Section 391 of the Penal Code.

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