A social media influencer, Faruk Musa Muhammad, has been arraigned before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on a four-count charge bordering on cyberbullying of the Defence Minister, General Christopher Musa.
Faruk Musa Muhammad is alleged to have claimed that Nigerian troops in the ongoing war against terror are losing their lives due to the alleged failure of the Defence Minister and the serving service chiefs to act appropriately.
The defendant, who pleaded not guilty to all the counts, is also alleged to have accused the Legal Adviser to the Minister, Aliyu Anas, of misleading the Defence Minister in an attempt to get him fired by the Presidency.
The 35-year-old Abuja-based man made the allegations on his TikTok handle between June 19 and July 17, 2026.
Upon pleading not guilty, the prosecution counsel, Fidelis Isong, urged the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial, while the defence counsel, Abdulkadir Ahmad, informed the court of a pending bail application which was yet to be served on the prosecution team.
The presiding judge, Justice Obiorah Egwuatu, adjourned the matter to September 9 for hearing on the bail application and ordered the remand of the defendant in the Kuje Correctional Facility.
