A Chief Magistrate Court in Kaduna has ordered the remand of activist and public commentator, Shehu Mahdi, at the Nigerian Correctional Centre following his arrest for spreading false and inciting claims about a France military base in northern Nigeria.
Mahdi was apprehended by the Department of State Services (DSS) after refusing to take down a series of viral videos in which he alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the establishment of a French military base in northern Nigeria.
His claims came in the wake of similar unsubstantiated remarks by Niger Republic’s military leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani.
In his videos, Mahdi blamed President Tinubu for endorsing the supposed deal, sparking public outrage. However, both the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, debunked the claims as baseless.
On Tuesday, the DSS arraigned Mahdi before Magistrate Abubakar Lamido on charges of conspiracy and aiding terrorism, in violation of Section 26(2)(3) of the Terrorism (Prevention & Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as inciting public disturbances under Section 78 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.
The court ordered Mahdi to remain in custody until January 14, 2025, when further hearings on the case will resume.
Fact-checks conducted by several media outlets revealed that the videos Mahdi posted were from 2013, showing Nigerian soldiers at Bamako Airport, Mali, during an African Union peacekeeping mission. The footage had no connection to recent events or any alleged military base in northern Nigeria.