The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Friday withdrew the charges pressed against Maryam Shehu, a final-year student of Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and one Abubakar Abdulhamad.
The anti-graft agency said the charges were withdrawn against them on passionate ground, warning that the commission would no longer tolerate any willful attack on its image in any form, medium or platform.
Maryam was arraigned on Thursday before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over an alleged social media post said to have tarnished the reputation of the EFCC.
The commission alleged that on June 21, 2026, Maryam Shehu used her Instagram account, @maryam_shehu, to publish a message alleging that EFCC officials assaulted one Ahmed Uthman on the instruction of a zonal director who allegedly collected N20 million from one Usman Iya Abbas.
She was arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja for alleged cybercrime and peddling malicious information against the commission.
Dele Oyewale, the spokesman of the commission, while announcing the withdrawal of the charges, explained that the chairman of the commission, Ola Olukoyede considered the pleas and apologies of Shehu’s father.
Oyewale said, ‘The executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has compassionately ordered the withdrawal of charges preferred against Maryam Isah Shehu and Abubakar Shuraim Abdulhamad.
‘While the commission considered the arraignment of the two defendants for cyber stalking to be contrary to section 24(2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (as amended) and punishable under section 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the same Act, the executive chairman, nonetheless, considered the passionate pleas and apologies of Shehu’s father and appeals of well-meaning Nigerians for leniency.
‘To this end, he has directed that the charges filed against the two young Nigerians be dropped, and warned that the EFCC would no longer tolerate any willful attack on its image in any form, medium or platform.’
The EFCC boss assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to function in line with its assigned mandate and in the best interests of the country.