- Safiu Kehinde
The Department of State Security (DSS) has arraigned Kaduna-based activist and social media influencer, Abubakar Muhammad, popularly known as Sarkin Sultan, over alleged cybercrime.
This was disclosed in a post shared on X on Monday by military and security affairs expert, Deji Adesogan.
According to the post, Sarkin Sultan was arraigned days after his arrest and confession to the crime in a now viral video.
The activist was reportedly arrested on Saturday at Layin Dan-Masani, Rigachikun in Igabi Local Government Area, following a formal complaint that he used phishing social media accounts to harass and extort a citizen.
As recounted in a previous post by Adesogan, Muhammad had allegedly created fake accounts with the handles @OZugwai40986 on X and @Zugwai75 on Instagram.
Sarkin Sultan reportedly used the accounts to threaten the complainant and demand payment through a crypto wallet and a Point of Sales (POS) account.
The complainant also accused Sultan of using other catfish accounts to lure her to an undisclosed location, raising suspicion of a kidnap attempt.
The activist, according to a security source, deleted the accounts when he realised the DSS was closing in on him, but cyber experts of the Service were able to recover them from his phone.
Investigators found digital footprints, payment evidence and conversations linking him directly to the alleged cybercrime, which are set to be presented in court.
Meanwhile, the suspect had in his confession video pleaded for out-of-court settlement.
The source, as quoted by Adesogan, however stressed that Sultan’s arrest had no political undertone erroneously reported on social media, insisting that the Service was only concerned with safeguarding ordinary citizens from online criminals.
“This is purely a cybercrime case. The Service is interested in protecting citizens, not politics,” the security source said.