The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has dragged online newspaper, Daily Nigeria before a Kano High Court, demanding three Billion Naira (N3 Billion) for defamation.
The Governor’s lawyer, Nuradeen A. Ayagi, in the suit submitted before the High Court dated 13, November, 2018, demanded the defendants for an appearance to be entered for them before 14 days.
Recall that Daily Nigerian, an online platform had published stories and videos alleging that the Kano state Governor Ganduje collected $5 Million as kickback from contractors.
Nuradeen prayed the court that it should declare as follows, “that the act of publishing and circulating libelous statements, false and doctored video clips attacking and impugning the character and integrity of the plaintiff amounts to defamation of character of the character plaintiff by the defendants and thus wrongful.”
The Counsel to the Governor also urged the Court to further outrightly declare “that unqualified imputation of theft, fraud, corruption and dishonesty which are all criminal offenses by the defendants publication against the plaintiff without any conviction by a court of laws, is slanderous, libelous, injurious and wrongful.
“An older perpetually restraining the defendants, their agents and all persons and entities to whom they shared their libelous documents/records from further defaming the good standing and character of the plaintiff.”
Ganduje is praying the court to for an “order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further publishing the said defamatory story and sharing the said doctored video clips howsoever to whichever type of audience.
” An order compelling the defendant to pay the plaintiff the sum of N3, 000,000,000 ( Three Billion Naira) as damages for the defamation of the plaintiff character and standing.
“An order compelling the defendants to write a public apology to the plaintiff and broadcast such apology through their online platforms and news media with global accessibility.”
Comments