The Nigerian Navy has confirmed it detained popular Instagram skit maker Ahmed Gafar aka Cute Abiola, declared missing by his relatives for violating its social media policy.
“The young man was found to have breached the social media policy while he was on leave. So he was recalled, asked to come back, but he refused until he completed his leave which is a disobedience to particular orders,” the spokesperson for the navy, Commodore Suleman Dahun said.
He reiterated that Cute Abiola was not missing but locked up in his unit for breaching the “Armed Forces social media policy.”
“So, when he came back, we took him into custody for him to face the consequence,” Mr Dahun added.
Cute Abiola, a naval officer, was last seen on Monday morning after he left his residence for his office at Navy Town.
He was said to have spoken with his wife over the telephone upon arrival at the office, but several attempts to reach him afterwards were unsuccessful.
According to Mr Dahun, naval officers have been cautioned against making certain information public on social media by sharing photos.
“You know, sometimes if you snap your picture in one of these our sensitive units, you are giving intelligence advisory. You’re giving away the information you’re not supposed to give, and we have told them several times to desist from exhibiting themselves on social media.”
Last year, Cute Abiola was arrested for posing in his navy uniform on his birthday.