University lecturer held over claims against Katsina government

A chief magistrates' court in Katsina on Wednesday ordered that a university lecturer, Bashir Kurfi, be held in police custody. He is facing charges of defamation and spreading false information against the state government.

This situation started when Mr Kurfi claimed that the Katsina State Government paid for some bandit leaders to go on the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage.

Mr Kurfi, who teaches at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to him by Chief Magistrate Zaharaddeen Soro.

The First Information Report presented in court said that Mr Kurfi made these claims during an interview on Trust TV on 24 June.

The prosecution argued that his comments wrongly accused the state government of sending bandit leaders to Saudi Arabia for the yearly Muslim pilgrimage. They said these comments could harm the reputation of both the government and the people in Katsina.

Police charged Mr Kurfi with two counts of defamation and injurious falsehood under Sections 308 and 309(1) of the Penal Code Law of Katsina State.

After Mr Kurfi entered his plea, the prosecution asked the court to keep him in police custody while they finish their investigation. They argued that letting him go on bail could affect their work.

The lawyer representing Mr Kurfi, A.D. Umar, disagreed. He urged the court to grant his client bail, saying he should be free while facing trial.

The magistrate told the police to keep investigating the matter and ordered that Mr Kurfi stay in custody until the next court date.

The case was postponed until 14 July for more hearings.

After the court session, Mr Umar spoke to journalists, expressing belief that his client would be cleared of the charges by the end of the trial.

Following the court proceedings, Mr Kurfi was taken back to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Katsina State Police Command.

The prosecution's case started after a petition was sent to the police by the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasiru Danmusa.

This petition questioned the comments made by Mr Kurfi during the television interview.

Police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq confirmed that the lecturer's arrest was based on this petition. He mentioned that the police acted after doing some initial checks before bringing charges in court.

However, the police did not share more details about the evidence they had for the charges.

The issue gained attention after Mr Kurfi made his claims during the interview in June. Soon after, the Katsina State Government rejected his statement, calling it false and challenging him to show proof.

The situation got more public attention days later when the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, announced that the State Security Service had arrested some suspected bandits and terrorists returning from the 2026 Hajj at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua International Airport in Katsina.

But the minister did not say that the state government paid for the suspects to travel, and security officials have not linked those arrests to Mr Kurfi's claims.

As of the time this report was written, the Katsina State Government had not released any new statement after Wednesday's court session.