The Department of State Services has arraigned Mubarak Abdullahi, also known as Sardaunan Samari, for circulating a fake document purportedly written by President Bola Tinubu and addressed to the President of the United States.

He faces three counts bordering on cybercrime and defamation at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

Abdullahi was first brought before a Chief Magistrate Court in Kaduna, which ordered his remand at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in the state. The development was disclosed late Monday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to Onanuga, Abdullahi was arrested on 28 September for sharing the fake document on his Facebook page with the caption “ATIKU IS COMING.” The suspect later admitted to investigators that he shared the document and apologised for his actions.

The presidential aide said the DSS has filed a three-count charge against him at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, though a date for his formal arraignment has not yet been fixed. Onanuga added that the security agency would continue to track those circulating misleading information online.

Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore criticised the arrest, describing it as an attempt to silence dissenting voices. He questioned the use of a national security agency to target a citizen for posting a document online and said a day of reckoning would come.