The Minister of State for Defense, Bello Matawalle, has sued two prominent northern journalists, Shu’aibu Mungadi and Tijjani Ramalan, for alleged defamation and malicious reportage.
The former governor, in the suit marked K/M2102/2024, dated October 25 and sighted by our correspondent on Sunday, is seeking N10bn in general damages in his favour against each of the six defendants in addition to 10 per cent post-judgment interest of the entire judgment sum until fully liquidated.
Other defendants in the suit are the employers of the two journalists, Vision Media Services Ltd, Vision FM, Farin Wata Television and Liberty Radio and TV.
The plaintiff in an affidavit in support of the motion for interlocutory injunction sworn to by Alhaji Masudu Abdulkadir, the personal assistant to the Minister, he claimed that the defendants through their media platform, anchored by the 1st and 2nd defendants, made utterances and assertions that the character of the plaintiff painting and alleging him as a sponsor of band*ts.
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.
