A Chief Magistrate Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered the remand of social media influencer, Ghali Isma’il, at the Keffi Correctional Centre following the circulation of online videos in which he claimed that President Bola Tinubu had died from a serious illness.
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) apprehended Isma’il days after he shared the misleading content on the TikTok handle @bola_asiwaju.
He is facing a two-count charge.
Count one, 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.”
Count two, “Inciting Disaffection to the Government,” alleged: “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 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 listening to arguments from both the DSS prosecution and the defence counsel, Chief Magistrate Ekpeyong Iyang denied the defendant’s bail application and directed that he be remanded at the Keffi Correctional Centre. The matter was adjourned to August 19.
The arraignment of Isma’il comes shortly after Farooq Kperogi, a Journalism Professor at Kennesaw State University in the U.S., issued a public apology for wrongly reporting that late President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha, had divorced before his death.
It’s also worth noting that Simon Ekpa, a Biafran separatist figure, is currently facing prosecution in Finland for alleged terrorism. Ekpa has argued that his controversial online posts were merely “content.”
Additionally, last week in Abuja, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, told a Federal High Court that his broadcasts—accused of instigating violence and deaths—were intended as jokes.
In Finland, prosecutors seeking a six-year sentence for Mr. Ekpa contend that his online, Finland-coordinated activities could be classified as terrorism under the country’s laws.