SP Michael Kalu, the first prosecution witness in the trial of an Abuja-based lawyer and four social media influencers accused of defaming Senator Shehu Umar, gave his testimony on Tuesday before Justice Rita Offili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Kalu, an investigator with the National Cybercrime Centre (NCC) of the Nigerian Police Force, recounted how the police tracked the defendants following a petition by the senator. The petition alleged criminal conspiracy, cyberbullying, and defamation of character.
According to the witness, Senator Umar informed the police that the defendants accused him of sponsoring bandits through financial support and the provision of motorcycles, and of masterminding the disappearance of his aide, with the claims circulated online.
“We profiled the social media handles used to identify the persons of interest,” Kalu said, explaining that investigations in collaboration with a network provider and other government agencies traced the TikTok account “Kibanna Channel” and a YouTube channel to Ahmed Abdulrahman, the first defendant and a lawyer. Abdulrahman, traced to Kano State, eventually confirmed ownership of the accounts and phone number.
Kalu also detailed how the other four co-defendants were identified and investigated. He said the online allegations damaged Senator Umar’s reputation.
After cross-examination by the defence team, the court adjourned until February 9, 10, and 11 for the continuation of the trial.
The case, originally prosecuted by the Inspector General of Police, was taken over in December 2025 by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN. The defendants—Abdulrahman, Daure David, Ishaq Muhammed, Abdulrashid Musa, and Nasir Abubakar—face an 11-count charge, including alleged cybercrime, defamation, and advance fee fraud.
Abdulrahman was granted N50 million bail with two sureties, while his co-defendants were admitted to bail in the sum of N1 million each, with one government-employed surety per person.
The charges include conspiracy to commit cyberstalking against Senator Umar, contrary to Section 27(1)(b) and Section 21(1)(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 (as amended 2024), and sending defamatory content online to tarnish the senator’s image.