Ahmed Abdulrahman, a lawyer, and his co-defendants have been ordered to stay under the custody of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) of the Force Headquarters by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Judge Rita Offili Ajumogobia adjourned the case against them on Wednesday and scheduled a hearing for November 24 to rule on the attorney’s bail request.
Senator Shehu Umar Buba, Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Security and Intelligence, has accused the five defendants of cyberbullying. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is prosecuting them.
Abdulrahman, 41; Daure David, 35; Ishaq Muhammad, 25; Abdulrashid Musa, 30; and Nasir Abubakar, 21, were listed as the first through fifth defendants by the IGP. Anthony Egwu filed the charge, FHC/ABJ/CR/526/2025, on October 6 after it was dated October 3.
On October 30, they were charged with eleven offenses, including advance fee fraud, cybercrime, and defamation. After they entered a not guilty plea to the charges, Justice Ajumogobia placed them under detention at the FCID.
The case was postponed for his client’s bail application, Afeez Matanmi, who was representing Abdulrahman, informed the court during the hearing on Wednesday. He said he submitted a legal response to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit in accordance with the judge’s order.
According to Matanmi, the application was dated and submitted on November 3. They asked the court to grant their request. In a similar vein, the attorney for the fourth defendant, A. A. Badmus, told the court that they had also applied for bail.
However, Badmus was informed by the judge that the application could not be considered due to the expired time. “On Monday, I will hear you,” stated Justice Ajumogobia. She then postponed the hearing to November 24 in order to make a decision regarding the first defendant’s bail request and for mention.
According to Section 27(1)(b) and Section 21(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015 (as amended) 2024, the defendants in count one were accused of conspiring “to commit an offence, to wit; cyberstalking against Senator Shehu Buba Umar” at some point in 2025.
In count three, Abdulrahman, the first defendant, was accused of purposefully sending a video via his YouTube channel and Tiktok account, “Kibanna Channel,” at some point in 2025 in an attempt to discredit the lawmaker by associating him with banditry sponsorship.
Abdulrahman’s designation of Senator Umar as a banditry sponsor was “a statement you made by means of computer systems and network knowing same to be false, for the purpose of causing breakdown of law and order and causing the Senator fear of death,” according to the prosecution.
Section 24(1)(5) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended) 2024 is violated by the offence.
In a different count, Daure David was charged with trying to obtain N5 million from the senator under the false pretext that the funds would be used to pay off individuals who intended to demonstrate against him.
