There is growing outrage in Nigeria over the arrest of a university student by security operatives after he allegedly defamed the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari in a Twitter post.
Aminu Adamu Mohammed has now been remanded in prison, his lawyer, Chijioke Kingsley Agu, has told the BBC.
He said his client was charged at a high court in the Maitama district in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday.
The student denied the one-count charge of criminal defamation.
His lawyer said a bail application had been filed that he hoped would be considered within the next 48 hours.
The 23-year-old student was reportedly arrested earlier this month after he allegedly posted a picture of Nigeria’s First Lady Aisha Buhari with a comment in the Hausa language suggesting that she had grown fat after misspending public money.
The prosecution accused him of spreading false information.
Mr Mohammed’s parents have publicly implored Mrs Buhari to forgive their son. She has not yet commented.
The undergraduate is due to start his final exams next Monday along with his classmates. It is not yet clear whether he will be released so that he can do so.
Social media users and rights campaigners have criticised the Nigerian authorities for the treatment of the student and called for his immediate release.
Some say Nigerian officials are becoming increasingly intolerant of criticism.
Earlier this month two young TikTok users were fined and flogged in public after a court found them guilty of defaming the governor of the northern state of Kano in a video shared on social media.
Source: BBC
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