Kaduna court sets aside young journalist's conviction
Farida Isiak, 23, had been sentenced without a lawyer over a Facebook post criticising police. She has pleaded not guilty and been granted bail.
Kaduna — A Sharia court in Kawo, Kaduna, has set aside the conviction of Farida Isiak, a 23-year-old journalist sentenced without a lawyer, and granted her bail, Premium Times reports.
What happened
- Her parents were detained after a dispute between her mother and a neighbour over N100 in change from a charcoal sale.
- She criticised the police on Facebook over their arrest. On 20 October she was arrested by the divisional police officer of Mararaban Jos; family sources say she was made to delete the post and apologise.
- On 21 October she was charged with defamation and, without legal representation, sentenced by Judge Aliyu Adamu to four years in prison or a fine of N1.75 million.
The reversal
Her lawyer, Mukhtar Abubakar, arrived as she was being prepared for transfer to a correctional centre. He argued she had not understood the proceedings or what a guilty plea meant, and that being tried without counsel raised fair-hearing concerns. The prosecutor reportedly agreed there were grounds to reconsider. The court set aside the proceedings and the conviction, and she pleaded not guilty. Her father and relatives stand as sureties, and the case returns to court on 3 November, when the prosecution is due to present its evidence.
Reactions
Amnesty International Nigeria called the arrest and first sentence vindictive and asked for the charges to be dropped and the officers involved investigated. Abubakar said the police had escalated a minor dispute instead of calming it.
Source: Premium Times, 22 October 2026.
