A social media user has landed in serious trouble after falsely saying that President Bola Tinubu had died. A court in Abuja ordered that Ghali Isma’il be kept in prison while his case continues.

Ghali Isma’il, who is 29 years old, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) after posting a video on TikTok. In the video, shared from his verified account @bola_asiwaju, he claimed the President had been poisoned and had died. The video quickly spread across the internet, causing panic and confusion.

According to a report by journalist Zagzola Makama, Ghali comes from Jogana Village in Gezawa Local Government Area, Kano State. He was brought to court on two serious charges – one for spreading false news and the other for trying to make people dislike the government.

The first charge says Ghali purposely shared a lie on July 20, 2025. He claimed that President Tinubu was very sick and had passed away, even though he had no proof. The authorities say this was meant to create fear and unrest. This act breaks the law under Section 418 of the Penal Code.

The second charge accuses him of trying to turn people against the government by spreading fake news. This is also illegal under Section 416 of the Penal Code.

The judge, Magistrate Ekpeyong Iyang, refused to release Ghali on bail. Instead, he ruled that Ghali should remain in prison until the next court date, which is August 19.

This case is one of many recent issues involving false information online. For example, U.S.-based writer Farooq Kperogi also got attention for wrongly claiming that former President Muhammadu Buhari had been divorced before he died, though he later took it back.