A chief magistrate’s court in Kaduna on Tuesday ordered the remand of self-styled activist and public commentator Shehu Mahdi at the Nigerian Correctional Centre, Kaduna.
Mahdi was arrested days earlier by officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) after refusing to remove inciting videos he had posted online. The videos alleged that President Bola Tinubu authorised France to establish a military base in northern Nigeria.
Mahdi’s claims followed a related allegation by Niger Republic’s military leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, who said France had set up a base in northern Nigeria. Mahdi publicly blamed Tinubu for endorsing the purported deal in a viral tweet.
Both Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and Minister of Information, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, have dismissed these claims as unfounded.
On Tuesday, the DSS arraigned Mahdi before Magistrate Abubakar Lamido on two charges: conspiracy, aiding and abetting terrorism (in violation of Section 26(2)(3) of the Terrorism Prevention & Prohibition Act, 2022), and inciting public disturbances (under Section 78 of the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State, 2017).
In his ruling, Magistrate Lamido ordered that Mahdi remain in custody at the correctional facility until January 14, 2025, pending further hearings.
The video clips shared by Mahdi have since been fact-checked by several media outlets, including Daily Trust and The Cable. They were identified as 2013 footage of Nigerian soldiers at Bamako Airport, Mali, during an African Union peacekeeping mission in northern Mali.