Posted by Amarachi on Mon 18th Nov, 2024 - tori.ng
Matawalle is pursuing ₦10 billion in general damages from each of the six defendants, along with a 10 per cent post-judgment interest on the total judgment amount until it is fully paid.
Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defense and immediate past governor of Zamfara State has filed a lawsuit against two prominent journalists from the northern region of the country, Shu’aibu Mungadi and Tijjani Ramalan, for alleged defamation and malicious reporting.
In the lawsuit, designated as K/M2102/2024 and dated October 25, which copy was sighted by newsmen, Matawalle is pursuing ₦10 billion in general damages from each of the six defendants, along with a 10 per cent post-judgment interest on the total judgment amount until it is fully paid.
The other parties named in the lawsuit include the employers of the two journalists: Vision Media Services Ltd, Vision FM, Farin Wata Television, and Liberty Radio and TV.
In an affidavit supporting the motion for an interlocutory injunction, sworn by Alhaji Masudu Abdulkadir, the Minister’s personal assistant, it is asserted that the defendants, through their media outlets led by the first and second defendants, made statements and claims that tarnished the plaintiff’s reputation, accusing him of being a sponsor of bandits.
The deponent deposed, saying “That the plaintiff/applicant was the chief security officer and the executive governor of Zamfara State for four years and that during his tenure in office as the executive governor as well as chief security officer of the state, he tried and strived vigorously to tackle insecurity in all its ramification in the state.
“That from January 2024, the 3rd to 6th defendants in their respective stations, channels, pages, handles, YouTube and programmes chaired/anchored by the 1st and 2nd defendants started televising, airing, broadcasting, posting, spreading false, libelous, injurious and defamatory statements, utterances, assertions and allegations against the person, character and reputation of the plaintiff, presenting and painting him as sponsor of bandits and banditry as well as kidnappers and kidnapping in the North-West states of Nigeria, Zamfara State inclusive.
“That the said stations, channels, pages, handles, Youtube and programmes of the 3rd to 6th defendants anchored/chaired by the 1st and 2nd defendants cut across the said North-West states and are being tuned, listened and viewed by the innocent good populous people of those states, including Kano State as well as the entire world in respect of the online stations, channels and pages of the defendants.”
The deponent asserted that the plaintiff would be liable for damages should the main lawsuit be deemed frivolous. However, he emphasized that “if not restrained during the hearing and resolution of the main suit, the defendants will persist in damaging and undermining the character and reputation of the plaintiff.”
In the motion on notice submitted by Umar Said of Umar and Umar chambers, currently before Justice Musa Ahmad of the Kano State High Court, Bichi Division, Matawalle is requesting the court to issue “an order of interlocutory injunction prohibiting all defendants, along with their officers, staff, agents, servants, and employees, from further instigating, insinuating, airing, broadcasting, posting, uploading, or transmitting in any form any matters concerning the plaintiff and his office as related to the facts of this case, until the hearing and resolution of the main suit.”
Additionally, in a concurrent writ of summons, the plaintiff’s counsel has requested the court to declare that the allegations, statements, utterances, and assertions made by the defendants against the plaintiff during their various programs and postings from January 2024 to the present, which have been aired, televised, posted, and broadcast by them on their respective platforms, constitute defamation of the plaintiff’s character and reputation.
The plaintiff is also seeking other remedies, including “an order of perpetual injunction to prevent the defendants, their agents, assigns, or proxies, regardless of their designation, from further defaming the plaintiff and his reputation.
“An order of the court directing the defendants to tender type-written apology to the plaintiff for the said defamation of his person, character and reputation and same apology shall bear and contain a retraction of the said defamatory statements, utterances, allegations, posting and assertions against the plaintiff and shall be published conspicuously part of two newspapers (local and nationwide).”
The court has scheduled a hearing for December 12, 2024.
Matawalle’s legal action follows a demand from a faction within the All Progressives Congress, known as the Akida Forum, for a comprehensive investigation into the minister of state regarding the escalating insecurity in the North-Western states.
This group, which staged a protest at the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters, called on the security agency to independently inquire into the purported ties between Matawalle and specific bandits.
A similar appeal was made by the Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, who urged Matawalle to resign from his ministerial role to vindicate himself.
Lawal also indicated that he had “formally reported the minister to the National Security Adviser and President Tinubu, providing them with relevant information.”
However, Matawalle has consistently refuted all allegations concerning his connections with bandits.