The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has discontinued the cybercrime charges filed against a final-year student of Bayero University, Kano, Maryam Isah Shehu, and another Nigerian, Abubakar Shuraim Abdulhamad.
The two defendants were separately arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday over allegations of cyberstalking and spreading malicious information about the anti-graft agency.
Shehu was accused of making a social media post on June 21 alleging that EFCC operatives assaulted one Ahmed Uthman on the directive of a zonal director who allegedly received N20m from an individual identified as Usman Abbas.
The commission maintained that the publication was capable of damaging its reputation and violated Section 24(2)(c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act, 2015, as amended in 2024.
Abdulhamad faced a separate charge under the same provision.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the allegations when the charges were read to them.
However, the EFCC later announced that it had decided to withdraw the charges against the two young Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Friday by its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, the commission said its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, directed that the cases be discontinued after receiving appeals for leniency and apologies from Shehu’s father, alongside interventions from other well-meaning Nigerians.
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According to the EFCC, although the commission maintained that the alleged conduct amounted to cyberstalking under the Cybercrimes Act, Olukoyede was persuaded by the appeals made on behalf of the defendants.
The commission said the chairman had therefore ordered the withdrawal of the charges against Shehu and Abdulhamad.
The EFCC, however, warned that it would not tolerate deliberate attempts to damage its reputation through any platform or medium.
The commission also reaffirmed its commitment to carrying out its statutory responsibilities in accordance with the law and in the interest of the country.
The development effectively brings an end to the criminal proceedings against the two defendants over the allegations.