The attempt to prosecute the publisher of Daily Nigerian, Jaafar Jaafar, and his colleague, Umar Audu, has suffered a setback after two lawyers listed in the petition denied knowledge of the case.
The petition, addressed to the Chief Registrar of the Kano State High Court, was filed by the Director General of Protocol at Kano Government House, Abdullahi Rogo, who accused the journalists of defamation following reports alleging he diverted N6.5bn meant for non-existent contracts.
Rogo’s counsel, Hamza Nuhu Dantani of Potent Attorneys, had listed five other lawyers as complainant counsel in the petition dated August 27. Among them were Ahmed Musa and Ridwan Yunusa, who have now disowned the petition.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Yunusa said his name was used without his consent.
“I wish to make it clear that I have not authorised the use of my name in this matter. I was at no point part of the law office of Potent Attorneys and my name was used without my knowledge,” he said.
In an interview with Daily Nigerian Musa also expressed surprise at seeing his name included.
“Ridwan drew my attention to the petition. When I saw it, I realised my name was added without my knowledge. Although I knew those who signed it, my name was included without my consent,” Musa said.
Daily Nigerian had earlier reported that the ICPC and EFCC indicted Rogo in connection with the diversion of N6.5bn from Kano’s federal allocation accounts into Bureau De Change operators’ accounts in Abuja.
Following the publication, Rogo petitioned the court, alleging the report was defamatory and capable of causing public disturbance.
With Musa and Yunusa’s withdrawal, the credibility of the petition against the journalists has again been called into question.
