Borno Gov’t refutes claims of Zulum’s son being arrested for murder

The Borno State government has refuted claims stating that Umara Zulum, one of Governor Babagana Zulum’s sons, was arrested in connection with the alleged murder of an Indian national.

Reports circulating on social media alleged that Umara, currently a student at a university in New Delhi, was involved in an incident where he purportedly broke a bottle of alcoholic drink over a Chinese national’s head at a nightclub, following a dispute over a woman they both were interested in.

Debunking the reports, Abdurrahman Ahmed Bundi, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Zulum on New Media, in a statement on Wednesday, said none of the governor’s sons “was either arrested or charged with any crime, or involved in any unlawful activities anywhere.”

Bundi urged the public to exercise caution when consuming and sharing information.

The statement said: “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.

“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’s 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.”