Umaru, a son of the Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, has publicly denied allegations that he killed someone in India.
The accusations, which have been circulating on social media, claim that Umara, a student at a university in New Delhi, fatally injured a Chinese national during a nightclub altercation over a woman.
In a 35-second video clip posted on social media, Umaru denied the rumours, describing them as baseless and an attempt to tarnish his father’s reputation.
The video shows the governor’s son speaking within the state government house.
The governor’s son said, “It has come to my notice, a baseless gossip accusation against me saying that I killed someone at a nightclub. This is not true.
“They want to tarnish my father’s name. I have been with my family for the past two months, right in Maiduguri. I am in Maiduguri right now.”
The controversy began when social media reports suggested that Umara had smashed a bottle on the head of a Chinese man who was competing for the attention of the same woman in a New Delhi nightclub.
Reports claimed the incident resulted in the man’s death and that Umara was subsequently arrested.
These allegations were further amplified by news reports that suggested that Governor Zulum had to abandon a planned trip to the United States to address the situation in India.
The source alleged that the governor attempted to resolve the matter with the deceased’s family and the Indian authorities but faced legal hurdles.
However, before Umaru’s video refutal, the Borno State government firmly denied the report.
The governor’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Abdurrahman Ahmed Bundi, released a statement on Wednesday stressing that none of the governor’s sons had been arrested or charged with any crime, urging the public to be cautious about spreading unverified information.
The statement reads, “The Borno State Governor’s media unit‘s attention has been drawn to rumours circulating that the son of the Borno State Governor has been arrested for the alleged murder of some Indian citizen.
“This misinformation was published in an online blog, titled “Son of Borno State Governor Murders Someone In India—Politics.” The blog claimed that the Governor also travelled to India, attempting to use diplomatic status to resolve the matter.
“It is on record that Governor Babagana Zulum was on a one-month vacation in Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Hajj and later travelled to Egypt to attend the annual ASUWAN forum conference in Cairo.
“The Media Unit would like to clarify and set the record straight that blogs have mischievously spread defamatory content without any speck of truth.
Bundi called for responsible journalism and the verification of facts before dissemination, emphasizing the potential psychological harm caused by such false reports.
He said, “We hereby warn those who have spread the false information to pull down this misinformation from its website and platforms within the next 24 hours and offer an unreserved apology to Governor Zulum, his son, and the entire family, or risk legal action.
“The Governor shall also not hesitate to take legal action against any media outlet that continues to publicise this defamatory information on its platform.
“We would like to inform the public that none of Governor Zulum’s son was either arrested or charged with any crime, or involved in any unlawful activities anywhere.
“We urge the public to exercise caution when consuming and sharing information, particularly when it comes from unverified sources and blogs instead of credible media outlets.
“We enjoin all media organisations to engage in responsible journalism of truth and factual verification while recognising the potential harm and psychological trauma the spread of false information might have caused to the Governor’s family.”