Dollar Bribery Video: Court Fines Ganduje N800,000 for Withdrawing Case, Publisher Demands N400m

 

The Kano State High Court has ordered Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state to pay the sum of N800,000 to Jaafar Jaafar, the publisher of Daily Nigerian.

 

The order was given on Tuesday by the court after Ganduje discontinued his defamation suit against Jaafar.

 

However, Jaafar has demanded N400m, as compensation for wasting his time and tarnishing his reputation.

 

Ganduje, who took both defendants to court, claiming damages for defamation on Tuesday applied to discontinue the litigation without stating any cogent reason.

 

Recall that Daily Nigerian had circulated a video, showing the governor purportedly taking bribery from a contractor and stuffing the money handed to him into his pocket.

 

However, counsel for Daily Nigerian, Muhammad Dan’Azumi, told the court that the governor had wasted his client’s precious time and had attempted to damage his reputation by claiming that it published defamatory items and demanded for damages.

 

In the same vein, counsel for Jaafar, U. U. Eteng, asked for N100n and demanded that the governor apologised.

 

Justice S. B. Namalam granted Ganduje’s discontinuance application, and ordered him to pay cost in the sum of N400,000 each to the two defendants.