Three Borno Youths Arrested Over Facebook Post On Shani LGA’s N3.11bn FAAC Allocation Freed

The youths — Salihu Yahaya, Haruna Mohammed and Muhammed Mallum — were released at about 2am on Saturday, August 29, 2026, as reported by Daily Trust.

Their release came about seven hours after Northern Nigeria Hub and Daily Trust published a report Friday night detailing their alleged arrest and detention by police over the Facebook post.

The youths were reportedly arrested at the instance of Shani LGA Chairman, Hassan Abdu Labaki, after sharing a post showing the council received N3,110,132,578.97 in FAAC allocations between January and June 2026, comprising statutory allocation, VAT, ecology, EMTL, solid mineral and augmentation funds.

Sources said they were initially detained at Shani Police Division and threatened with transfer to State CID or DSS in Maiduguri.

“They were released around 2am. They are now back home,” one source told Daily Trust. Another said their phones were still in police custody as the officer holding them was not around at time of release.

Daily Trust’s analysis showed Shani received N551.90m in May — highest — and N474.92m in March — lowest — based on OAGF monthly FAAC reports. The post contained no allegation against officials.

Efforts to reach Chairman Labaki and Borno police for reaction were unsuccessful as of press time. No official statement from council or police on arrest and release.

The arrests had sparked outrage on social media, with residents calling for public officials to respond to questions over public funds rather than arresting citizens.

Three youths arrested in Shani Local Government Area of Borno State over a Facebook post on the council’s N3.11 billion FAAC receipts have been released.