Why I sued Pyramid FM worker — Ganduje’s ex-aide

Anas Abba Dala, former special adviser to former Governor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has revealed the motive behind the decision to drag Muktar Dahiru, a staff member of Radio Nigeria, Pyramid FM, Kano, before a Magistrate court.

Dahiru, a continuity announcer, was remanded at the correctional centre by a Kano Magistrate Court 24 for alleged criminal conspiracy, defamation of character, and insult against the plaintiff, contrary to sections 97, 391, and 115 of the penal code.

Reacting to negative insinuations regarding the development, Dala disclosed that he was compelled to take legal action against Dahiru for calling him an adulterer and a wayward son who abandoned his 85-year-old mother to hawk on the street.

Dala also alleged that Dahiru defamed his character by accusing him of impregnating a lady and abusing the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, through his personal social media handle.

The plaintiff, however, described as falsehood and baseless assumptions being circulated in the media, accusing the Kano State government of jailing a journalist. He insisted that he was compelled to drag Dahiru to court to reclaim his integrity and image, which were under threat.

“Firstly, I did not sue him on behalf of the government because I am not a government agent or official. The reason why I took him to court was because Dahiru is not from Kaduna, and he used his platform to rain insults on me.

“Dahiru used his social media handle to accuse me of engaging in adultery, that I left my mother hawking on the streets, that I can’t read or write, that I cannot even recite the first chapter of the Quran (Al-Fatiha), that I am an adulterer.

“He brought someone from Niger State accusing me of impregnating a certain woman. He placed all these on his platform. He duet my picture with his and also used a voice claiming that I was insulting Vice President Kashim Shettima. I have all the videos as evidence. He placed all these allegations against me on his social media platforms,” Dala claimed.

Dala explained that he had reported the case to Police Headquarters, Zone 1, who investigated the matter where he also testified using his personal social media handle, after which the police advised that the case be referred to court.

“So I didn’t go to the police in the beginning; I went to the Magistrate Court where I sued him. The court then instructed the police at Zone One to investigate the matter. We got him arrested even after he made attempts to escape.

“The matter was then taken to court, where he was accused of insult, conspiracy, and defamation of character. His lawyers came; there is one Jafar Sani Bello. His counsel demanded that he be released on bail. It was Jafar Sani Bello who provided the lawyers for him. He also claimed that he was the one sponsoring him to do all that,” Dala explained.