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70-Year-Old Man Jailed For 18 Months For Insulting President Buhari
A court sitting in Katsina State on Tuesday sentenced a 70-year-old man, Lawal Izala, to 18 months imprisonment.
Izala was arrested last week for allegedly insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Aminu Masar of Katsina State in a viral video.
The septuagenarian and two others were arraigned for inciting disobedience to civil authorities and disrespect to authorities through demeaning utterances.
Speaking with newsmen while being paraded, Izala said he spoke out of anger when he visited his village and found out that bandits had killed his family members and rustled 15 of his cows.
“I was coming back from my village where my 15 cattle were rustled and my family members killed. I was passing by when I was asked about how life was going on for me.
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“Then I said, our leaders, Buhari and Masari have failed us. I then threw insults out of anger from my agony. I did not even know I was being recorded on video.
“I was just saying my mind with all honesty. It was after the video went viral that I was arrested by the police. I was accused of committing a crime under the Penal Code.”
Delivering judgement on the matter on Tuesday, the court found Izala guilty of two count charges of inciting violence and disrespect for civil authorities.
The 70-year-old was sentenced to six months jail term for the first charge and one year for the other charge with an option of N10,000 fine for the first charge and N20,000 for the second.
SaharaReporters gathered that some kind-hearted fellows in the state paid the N30,000 fine and the 70-year-old had been released.
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