By Terna Chikpa
The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Thursday granted bail to a Facebook user, Fonya Sule, after spending one month at the Jalingo Correctional Centre.
Our correspondent reports that the Taraba State Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General, filed a criminal complaint against Sule at the Upper Area Court, Jalingo, on September 30, 2026, over a Facebook post allegedly directed at Governor Agbu Kefas and his 2027 governorship running mate, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim, popularly known as Aunty Zee.
Available documents showed that Sule had, on August 12, 2026, published a post on his Facebook wall urging the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate in Taraba State to be wary of Governor Kefas, alleging that the governor 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 subsequently arrested and remanded at the Jalingo Correctional Centre over allegations of criminal defamation against Governor Kefas and his running mate.
In suit No. CM/138/28, filed pursuant to Section 122(A) of the Taraba State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2021, the state government alleged that Sule’s action was a deliberate attempt to damage the reputations of Kefas and Ibrahim.
The complaint, dated September 30, 2026, and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, A. D. Mustapha, Esq., alongside four other state counsel, described the alleged offence 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.
Speaking to journalists at the Jalingo Correctional Centre, Pius said the Federal High Court had considered the offence bailable and granted his client bail.
He added that the defendant was presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.