EFCC Withdraws Charges against Maryam Shehu, Abubakar Shuraim Abdulhamad

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The charges filed against two young Nigerians, Ms Maryam Isah Shehu and  Mr Abubakar Shuraim Abdulhamad, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have been withdrawn.

On Thursday, August 20, 2026, the anti-money laundering organisation arraigned the duo before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for alleged cybercrime and peddling malicious information against the commission.

The agency claimed that the two persons committed offences contrary to Section 24(2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended), 2024 and punishable under Section 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the same Act.

Their arraignment by the EFCC generated mixed reactions, with a few legal practitioners arguing that the commission has no power to file charges against them since their alleged offences were not financial crimes.

However, in a statement on Friday, the EFCC said it dropped the charges following “the passionate pleas and apologies of Shehu’s father and appeals of well-meaning Nigerians for leniency.”

The notice said the chairman of the organisation, Mr Ola Olukoyede, thereafter, “ordered the withdrawal of charges preferred against” the duo.

But he “warned that the EFCC would no longer tolerate any wilful attack on its image in any form, medium or platform,” assuring Nigerians that the commission will “continue to function in line with its assigned mandate and in the best interests of the nation.”

Business Post reports that Ms Shehu was brought before the court on an amended one-count charge bordering on cybercrime and wilful character assassination of the EFCC via her Instagram handle, while Mr Abdulhamad was on a one-count charge bordering on cybercrime and criminal fabrication of the identity of the commission.

“That you Maryam Isah Shehu on or about the 21st June 2026, at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, intentionally sent a message by means of a social network service via your Instagram account (@maryamshehu) containing a message which was intended to tarnish the reputation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, when you published that EFCC officials assaulted Ahmed Uthman under the instruction of a Zonal Director who allegedly collected N20 million from one Usman lya Abbas and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24(2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended) 2024 and punishable under Section 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the same Act,” the charge against Ms Shehu read.

“That you Abubakar Shuralm Abdulhamid, sometime in May, 2026 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, intentionally sent a message by means of a social network service via your X (formerly known as Twitter) account (@shuraimi) containing a message which was intended to tarnish the reputation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, when you published an image fabricated to resemble an official arrest placard of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, depicting one Sadeeq Kabeer as a suspect arrested by the commission with the inscription “His only crime was selling laptops at affordable price to student” as his purported offence, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24(2) (c) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc) Act, 2015 (As Amended) 2024 and punishable under Section 24 (2) (c) (ii) of the same,” the charge against Mr Abdulhamad read.