Court grants bail of man remanded over Facebook post against Taraba gov

The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo on Thursday granted bail to a Facebook user, Fonya Sule, after he spent one month in the Jalingo Correctional Centre.

Tribune Online reports that the Taraba State Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General, filed a criminal complaint against Sule before the Upper Area Court in Jalingo on September 30, 2026, over a Facebook post attributed to him concerning Governor Agbu Kefas and his running mate for the 2027 governorship election, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim, popularly known as Aunty Zee.

Available documents show that Sule posted a message on his Facebook page on August 12, 2026, calling on the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate in Taraba State to be careful around Governor Kefas, alleging that he might impregnate her.

The post read: “Aunty Zee be Very careful ooh, if not u will soon carry belle, that your boss na one time BuGu.”

Our correspondent reports that Sule was arrested the following week and remanded at the Jalingo Correctional Centre over allegations of criminal defamation of Governor Kefas and his running mate, Aunty Zee.

In suit No. CM/138/28, filed pursuant to Section 122(A) of the Taraba State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2021, and dated September 30, 2026, the Director of Public Prosecutions, A. D. Mustapha, Esq., alongside four other state counsel, alleged that Sule’s action was a deliberate attempt to damage the reputations of Governor Kefas and Hajiya Ibrahim.

The complaint described the alleged conduct as criminal defamation and injurious falsehood, punishable under Sections 392 and 393 of the Penal Code Law, Cap. 98, Laws of Taraba State, 1997.

Meanwhile, counsel to the defendant, Pius Danba Pius, approached the Federal High Court in Jalingo to seek bail for his client, arguing that the offence was bailable and that the prosecution had yet to prove its case against him.

Barrister Pius also told journalists at the Jalingo Correctional Centre that the Federal High Court had considered the offence bailable and granted his client bail. He noted that the defendant was presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.