A High Court has granted bail in the sum of ₦5 million to popular social media critic and political commentator, Haruna Garba (better known as Garus Gololo), following his arraignment over allegations of defaming and insulting the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
Alongside the ₦5 million bond, the court ordered that Gololo provide two reliable sureties in like sum. The sureties must be residents within the court’s jurisdiction and must deposit verifiable land titles or valid national identity documents as part of the strict bail conditions.
The legal battle stems from a viral video circulated on various social media platforms in late May 2026. In the footage, Gololo allegedly claimed that Senate President Akpabio made highly divisive and inflammatory political remarks targeting Northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Specifically, Gololo alleged that Akpabio stated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would secure a victory in the 2027 presidential race “with or without the support of the North.”
The prosecution maintains that these claims were entirely fabricated, malicious, and deliberately engineered to incite regional tensions, pitch northern stakeholders against the Senate President, and cause a breach of public peace.
Following the viral spread of the video, the Office of the Senate President swiftly issued a disclaimer dismissing the allegations as complete falsehoods. A statement signed by Malam Jibril Lawal Tafida, Special Adviser to the Senate President on Diaspora and NGO Matters, labeled Gololo’s rhetoric as “provocative, disrespectful to the number three citizen, and inconsistent with acceptable civic conduct.”
The Senate Presidency subsequently petitioned law enforcement agencies to investigate and apprehend the critic for spreading unverified, ethnically sensitive misinformation.
Similarly, socio-cultural groups, including the Isong Annang Ethnic Forum from Akwa Ibom State, fiercely condemned Gololo’s actions. Following an emergency review of the viral clips, the forum stated:
”We found absolutely no proof against our son. Distinguished Senator Akpabio is a well-known nationalist who did not make any statement intended to diminish or undermine the critical role Northern Nigeria plays in national politics.”
During the arraignment, Gololo pleaded not guilty to the charges of cyberstalking, defamation, and intentional insult targeted at provoking public hostility.
While the defense successfully argued for his temporary release on bail, the presiding judge emphasized that any breach of the conditions would result in an immediate revocation. The case has been adjourned to a later date for the commencement of full trial proceedings, where the prosecution is expected to tender the electronic evidence and call its principal witnesses.
