An Abuja Chief Magistrate Court on Friday ordered the remand of a social media influencer, Ghali Isma’il, at the Keffi Correctional Centre for allegedly spreading false information about President Bola Tinubu’s health. Isma’il, 29, was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on the publication of false news and inciting disaffection against the government.
He was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services after posting videos on his verified TikTok handle, @bola_asiwaju, falsely claiming that President Tinubu had died from poisoning.
One of the charges, titled “Publication of False News with Intent to Cause Offence Against Public Peace,” stated:
“That you, Ghali Ismail, Male, twenty-nine (29) years of Jogana village, Gezawa LGA, Kano State, on or about the 20th Day of July, 2025 and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, did publish false information by uploading a video clip on your verified Tiktok handle (‘bola-asiwaju’) wherein you falsely claimed that you reliably confirmed from official sources that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was critically ill, having been poisoned through his meal, with intent to cause public alarm and disturb public peace. You thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 418 of the Penal Code Act, Cap P3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
The second count, “Inciting Disaffection to the Government,” read in part: “…with intent to bring contempt or incite feelings of disaffection against the person of the President. You thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 416 of the Penal Code Act, Cap P3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
After hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence counsel, the presiding judge, Ekpeyong Iyang, denied the defendant’s bail application and ordered that Isma’il be remanded in Keffi Correctional Centre. The case was adjourned till August 19, 2025.
Isma’il’s arraignment comes days after Farooq Kperogi, a journalism professor at Kennesaw State University in the United States, publicly apologised for falsely reporting that former President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha, were divorced at the time of his death.
Meanwhile, Finnish prosecutors are currently trying Biafran separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa, for terrorism-related offences. Ekpa, however, claims his controversial online posts were meant merely as “content.”
Similarly, last week in Abuja, Nnamdi Kanu, another Biafran separatist leader, told a Federal High Court that his online broadcasts — which prosecutors allege contributed to the deaths of hundreds — were meant as jokes. Finnish authorities are seeking a six-year sentence for Ekpa, arguing that his activities may amount to terrorism under the country’s laws
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