Court Remands Whistleblower In Prison Over Claims Of Foreign Military Base In Northern Region
Shehu Mahdi, a public commentator, has been remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna.
The remand order was issued by a Kaduna Chief Magistrate Court on Tuesday.
Mahdi was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) after refusing to take down viral videos alleging that President Bola Tinubu had approved the establishment of a French military base in northern Nigeria.
His claims followed a statement by Niger Republic’s military leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, regarding France’s alleged military activities in the region.
The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, have both debunked Mahdi’s allegations as unfounded.
The DSS arraigned Mahdi before Magistrate Abubakar Lamido on charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting terrorism under the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022, and inciting public disturbances under Kaduna State’s Penal Code Law, 2017.
“In his ruling, Magistrate Lamido held that Mahdi remains in a correctional facility in Kaduna until January 14, 2025, for further hearing on the matter,” the DSS stated in a statement made available to Punch Online.
The videos posted by Mahdi were fact-checked by media outlets such as Daily Trust and The Cable, which revealed them to be 2013 footage of Nigerian soldiers at Bamako Airport, Mali, during an African Union Peacekeeping Mission.
It was earlier reported that Shehu had been arrested by the DSS over a controversial viral video.
The arrest, which occurred over the weekend, followed allegations that Shehu shared outdated footage suggesting the Nigerian government intended to establish a French military base in the North-West region of the country.
When contacted Mustapha Abubakar, Shehu’s lawyer, he said he got to know about the arrest from Shehu’s family.
