Sahara Reporters’ defamation: Justice Minister, Malami, heads to court

Embarrassed by Sahara Reporters’ defamatory publications, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN) has given the medium a seven-day ultimatum to retract the publications or face legal action.

Malami said the errant online medium’s criminal defamatory publications have subjected him to considerable distress, psychological trauma, anxiety and greatly injured his character and reputation, which is capable of lowering his estimation in in the eyes of right-thinking persons in the society.

Malami, however, gave the medium a seven-day ultimatum to retract all the libelous and criminally defamatory publications against him, and issue a public apology to be published on the platform and on the front pages of three national newspapers for three consecutive days.

“A senior lawyer has already been briefed to deal with the matter as may be appropriate in the event of failure to retract the publication in question and offer the requested apology within the stipulated time,” he said.

He said series of prejudicial articles/materials were published by Sahara Reporters Inc. which were adverse against him disparaged his reputation via its online internet platform and broadcast on the internet via the Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other similar Social Media platforms where same could be viewed and assessed by the whole world and further shared and/or disseminated virally without restraint.

He noted particularly that on the 10th, 11th and 12th of July 2020, Sahara Reporters, in what appears like a coordinated attack, viciously wrote and maliciously published libelous and criminally defamatory articles against his personality.

“It is pertinent to note that the publications were untrue, fabrication or at best a figment of imagination of Sahara Reporters and are unsupported howsoever.” he said in a statement by Dr Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, and given to PerSecondnews.

As a result of the 10th of July 2020 when the  defamatory articles was first published, he has been receiving several telephone calls and visits from well-meaning Nigerians, his friends, well-wishers and associates from all over the world including those he has dealt with/still dealing with in his Official Capacity as Nigeria’s Chief Law Officer, many of whom have expressed serious concerns over the publication, Malami said.

“On the premise of the foregoing and given that the publication of malicious libel and criminal defamation published against him by Sahara Reporters was with a view to disparage him in the eyes of right thinking persons, contrary to Nigerian Criminal and Penal Laws and a gross violation of our his Right to Dignity of Human Person as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As amended).”