Journalist in prison for sharing content critical of Governor Yusuf, Emir Sanusi
A Kano magistrate court has remanded a journalist in prison for sharing media content deemed critical of state government officials, including Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and the reinstated Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Muktar Dahiru, a staffer of Radio Nigeria’s Pyramid FM Kano, was arrested by the police and remanded in a correctional facility on Thursday for allegedly sharing content on Facebook that was considered offensive by the state government.
In a series of posts, Dahiru shared a broadcast audio interview with an opposition politician who accused the governor of corruption. The opposition politician challenged the governor to allow federal anti-corruption agencies to investigate the Novomed Pharmaceutical scandal instead of relying on the state’s anti-corruption agency. Novomed Pharmaceutical, owned by Musa Kwankwaso, a younger brother of former governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is currently under investigation over a contract with the state government.
Dahiru also posted a video of the governor’s political adviser, Anas Abba-Dala, speculating that the Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima, is not a Nigerian citizen. In the program, Abba-Dala alleged that Shettima betrayed his political mentor, Ali-Modu Sheriff, and claimed that Shettima’s relatives were responsible for the killing of Islamic cleric Ja’afar Adam in a Kano mosque in 2007. Dahiru captioned the post with: “This is beyond politics.”
In another post, Dahiru shared an audio program where an individual accused the reinstated Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II, of living an extravagant lifestyle while pretending to be sympathetic to the poor.
Additionally, Dahiru shared an audio recording of an opposition politician, Yusuf Fasaha, who accused former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of fraud. Fasaha alleged that Kwankwaso collected N320 million from their group for nomination forms when they were in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but later distributed the seats among his preferred candidates without conducting a primary election. Despite multiple meetings, Kwankwaso reportedly refused to refund the money.
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The journalist was secretly charged before Magistrate Court 24 at Gyadi Gyadi, Court Road, on counts of criminal conspiracy, defamation of character, and intentional insult, charges that the government says violate sections 97, 391, and 115 of the Penal Code Law.
The charges were reportedly brought following a complaint by Abba-Dala, who claimed that Dahiru called him an illiterate and tarnished his image by suggesting he impregnated a woman out of wedlock. The magistrate, Ummah Kurawa, ordered Dahiru to be remanded in a correctional facility until 3 September, when a bail application hearing will be held.
The arrest and subsequent remand of Muktar Dahiru have raised concerns among press freedom advocates, who see this as an infringement on the journalist’s right to free expression and a worrying sign of the growing crackdown on dissenting voices in Kano State.
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