The North East Star has strongly condemned what it describes as a malicious and fabricated report falsely linking Hon. Mukhtar Aliyu Betara, Chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to alleged cash gifts of $5,000 to lawmakers.

In a statement issued on Monday evening in Maiduguri, Borno State, Ibrahim Goni, Executive Director of the group, categorically dismissed the claims as sheer falsehood and a desperate attempt to smear Betara’s reputation.

“Let it be clear: at no point did Hon. Betara tell any journalist that lawmakers received $5,000 for Sallah. This is a complete fabrication, designed to mislead the public and create unnecessary controversy,” he said.

The group accused certain individuals of deliberately spreading falsehoods to create friction between Betara and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.

“We know the agenda at play here—there are forces unhappy with Betara’s good working relationship with the Speaker and his colleagues. They are now resorting to cheap blackmail to tarnish his image. But Nigerians are not fools; they can see through this poorly scripted lie,” Goni added.

Goni further described the report as “unprofessional journalism at its worst” and demanded an immediate retraction from those behind the falsehood.

“We challenge anyone peddling this fake story to produce verifiable evidence. If not, they should retract it immediately and tender an apology. Hon. Betara is a respected lawmaker with a track record of integrity. No amount of lies will change that.”

The North East Star also called on media houses to be more responsible and verify information before publishing baseless accusations.

“Journalism is about facts, not fiction. Spreading outright lies to serve political interests is disgraceful and should have no place in the media,” Goni admonished.

The group warned that failure to withdraw the false report would attract serious consequences, including legal action.