Ganduje asks court to drop libel charges against Daily Nigeria publisher

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has filed an application before Kano High Court to discontinue the libel charges against an online newspaper, Daily Nigeria, and its publisher, Jaafar Jaafar.

The plaintiff had instituted court action against the defendants over a story published in 2018 entitled ‘Nigeria Governor Caught on Video Receiving $5 million bribes, with a series of video clips showing someone receiving kickback in foreign currency.

The publisher had claimed the images in the clips that went viral on social media were that of the governor and the contractor exchanging kickback in multiple foreign currencies.

Consequently, the governor slammed the publisher over N100 million damages for character defamation, while seeking perpetual injunction restricting the defendants from further publishing and sharing the contents on any media.

Meanwhile, in an application on notice before Kano High Court and dated June 28, 2021, the applicant sought a court order to withdraw the suit. The application filed by lead counsel to the applicant, Chief E.O.B Offiong wanted the court to discontinue the case for reasons not yet in the public domain.

The case has been slated for mention on the July 6, 2021.