A final-year student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Maryam Isah Shehu, has been arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja over an alleged social media publication said to have tarnished the reputation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Shehu was arraigned on Thursday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on an amended charge filed by the EFCC.
According to the commission, Shehu allegedly used her Instagram account, @maryam_shehu, on June 21, 2026, to publish a message accusing EFCC officials of assaulting one Ahmed Uthman on the instruction of a zonal director who allegedly received N20 million from one Usman Iya Abbas.
The EFCC alleged that the publication was intended to damage the reputation of the commission.
Shehu was charged under Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024, with the prosecution relying on Section 24(2)(c)(ii) for the punishment of the alleged offence.
During the proceedings, her lawyer, Barrister Chiemela Ozioma Amalaha, sought to move an application for her bail.
Amalaha told the court that Shehu had already spent nearly 30 days in custody before being brought before the court. He added that the defence received the amended charge on Thursday morning and subsequently filed a bail application, which was served on the prosecution.
The prosecution, however, opposed the move, arguing that it had not been given sufficient time to study the bail application.
Consequently, the court did not hear the bail application and adjourned the matter until August 31, 2026, for hearing.
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Shehu was subsequently remanded at the Suleja Custodial Centre pending further proceedings.
Her lawyer also informed the court that the student was scheduled to sit for an examination on Saturday and appealed to the court for intervention, particularly in view of the period she had already spent in detention.
The case was heard at Court 7 of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The amended charge, dated August 20, accused Shehu of intentionally transmitting a message through a social networking service which the EFCC alleged was intended to damage its reputation.
The matter has been adjourned until August 31, 2026, for hearing of the defendant’s bail application.
