A chief magistrates’ court in Katsina on Wednesday remanded a university lecturer, Bashir Kurfi, in police custody for alleged defamation and injurious falsehood against the state government.
The charge arose from Mr Kurfi’s claims that the Katsina State Government sponsored some bandit leaders to the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage.
Mr Kurfi, a lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him before Chief Magistrate Zaharaddeen Soro.
According to the First Information Report presented before the court, the defendant allegedly made the remarks during an interview on Trust TV on 24 June.
The prosecution argued that the comments falsely accused the state government of sponsoring bandit leaders to Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage and were capable of damaging the reputation of both the government and the people of the state.
Police charged the defendant with two counts of defamation and injurious falsehood under Sections 308 and 309(1) of the Penal Code Law of Katsina State.
After the defendant entered his plea, the prosecution urged the court to remand him in police custody pending the conclusion of investigations, arguing that releasing him on bail at that stage could interfere with the investigation.
Counsel to the defendant, A.D. Umar, opposed the application, urging the court to admit his client to bail and arguing that he was entitled to his liberty while standing trial.
In his ruling, the magistrate directed the police to continue their investigation and ordered that Mr Kurfi remain in police custody pending the next sitting.
The matter was adjourned until 14 July for the continuation of the hearing.
Speaking with journalists after the proceedings, Mr Umar expressed confidence that his client would be vindicated at the conclusion of the trial.
Mr Kurfi was subsequently escorted back to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Katsina State Police Command.
Petition by state government
The prosecution follows a petition submitted to the police by the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasiru Danmusa.
The petition challenged comments Mr Kurfi made during the television interview.
The police confirmed that the lecturer was arrested following the petition.
Police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq said the command acted on the complaint after conducting preliminary investigations before filing charges in court.
The police, however, did not disclose further details of the evidence supporting the charges.
Background
The controversy began after Mr Kurfi made the allegation during a television interview in June.
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Shortly afterwards, the Katsina State Government rejected the claim, describing it as false and challenging the analyst to provide evidence to support the allegation.
The development attracted wider public attention days later, when the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed that the State Security Service had arrested several suspected bandits and terrorist elements returning from the 2026 Hajj at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina.
However, the minister did not state that the state government sponsored the suspects, and security authorities have not publicly linked those arrests to the allegations made by Dr Kurfi.
As of the time of filing this report, the Katsina State Government had not issued any fresh statement following Wednesday’s court arraignment.
