In a courtroom charged with tension and intrigue, Justice Rita Offili Ajumogobia on Thursday ordered the remand of a lawyer, Ahmed Abdulrahman, and four others at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Area 10, Abuja. The ruling came after their arraignment on allegations of cyberbullying and blackmailing a serving senator — Senator Shehu Buba Umar, the powerful Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence.
The defendants — Abdulrahman, Daure David, Ishaq Abubakar Muhammed, Abdulrashid Abdullahi Musa, and Nasiru Usman Abubakar — found themselves standing before the gavel of justice as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) slammed an eleven-count charge against them. The charges painted a grim picture of digital warfare, featuring cyberbullying, advance fee fraud, and extortion.
When the charges were read aloud, each of the five accused firmly pleaded not guilty. But that declaration did little to sway the prosecution. Counsel to the IGP, Victor Okoye, urged the court to keep the defendants behind bars — preferably at Kuje Prison — pending trial. He described them as repeat offenders in the dark art of online intimidation.
However, the defense counsel, Affis Matanmi, mounted a spirited argument for bail on behalf of his client, the embattled lawyer. Matanmi reminded the court that his client was not just any defendant but a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court — one who understands the gravity of jumping bail. He insisted that Abdulrahman had previously been granted administrative bail by the police and had dutifully complied.
The prosecution, however, was not convinced. Okoye countered sharply, revealing that after his initial release, the lawyer allegedly dabbled in two new cyberbullying episodes — featuring prominently in five of the eleven charges. “Being a lawyer,” Okoye argued, “does not confer immunity from the consequences of criminal conduct.”
After a heated back-and-forth, Justice Ajumogobia struck the gavel with quiet authority. The court ruled that all five defendants be remanded at the Force CID until November 10, allowing the defense time to file additional affidavits and address the prosecution’s “weighty allegations.”
Among the charges, the most striking involve claims that Abdulrahman, through his TikTok and YouTube channels — operating under the alias Kibanna Channel — circulated a video accusing Senator Umar of sponsoring banditry. The prosecution described the video as a “calculated act of defamation” aimed at tarnishing the senator’s image and inciting public disorder.
Another charge revealed an alleged plot by Daure David to swindle ₦5 million from the senator, under the guise of pacifying protesters supposedly mobilized against him.
The offences, according to the police, violate multiple provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended, 2024) — a legal framework now taking center stage in Nigeria’s growing battle against online misconduct.
As the courtroom emptied, whispers followed the accused — a lawyer, once a defender of justice, now accused of wielding the internet as a weapon. The real trial, both legal and reputational, resumes November 10.
