Bello Matawalle Takes Legal Action Against Journalists, Seeks N60bn in Damages

Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defence, has filed a lawsuit against Shu’aibu Mungadi and Tijjani Ramalan, two well-known northern journalists, alleging defamation and malicious reporting.

The former governor is requesting N10 billion in general damages against each of the six defendants in the action stamped K/M2102/2024, dated October 25 and seen by our correspondent on Sunday. Additionally, he is requesting 10% post-judgment interest on the full judgement amount until it is entirely liquidated.

The employers of the two journalists, Vision Media Services Ltd., Vision FM, Farin Wata Television, and Liberty Radio and TV, are also defendants in the lawsuit.

In an affidavit supporting the motion for an interlocutory injunction, which was sworn to by the Minister’s personal assistant, Alhaji Masudu Abdulkadir, the plaintiff asserted that the defendants, using their media platform and led by the first and second defendants, had made statements and claims that painted the plaintiff as a bandit sponsor.

In his deposition, the deponent stated that the plaintiff/applicant had served as both the executive governor and the chief security officer of Zamfara State for four years. During that time, he made a concerted effort to address the state’s insecurity and all of its consequences.

“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.

“That the said stations, channels, pages, handles, Youtube and programmes of the 3rd to 6th defendants anchored/chaired by the 1st and 2nd defendants cut across the said North-West states and are being tuned, listened and viewed by the innocent good populous people of those states, including Kano State as well as the entire world in respect of the online stations, channels and pages of the defendants.”

The deponent argued that “unless restrained pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit, the defendants will continue injuring and assassinating the character and reputation of the plaintiff,” even though the plaintiff agreed to pay damages if the substantive suit was found to be frivolous.

The court is seeking “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining all the defendants, their officers, staff, agents, servants and employees from making further instigation, insinuation airing, broadcasting, posting, uploading, transmitting, televising in whatever form any issue concerning, relating or regarding the plaintiff and his office as per the facts of this suit, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit,” according to Matawalle’s motion on notice filed by Umar Said of Umar and Umar chambers and submitted to Justice Musa Ahmad of Kano State High Court, Bichi Division.

Additionally, in a concurrent writ of summons, the plaintiff’s attorney asked the court to declare that “the defendants’ repeated accusations, statements, utterances, and assertions against the plaintiff at their various programs and postings from January 2024 to date, aired, televised, posted, and broadcast by them at their respective stations, channels, handles, and YouTubes as per the facts of this suit constitute defamation of the plaintiff and his person, character, and reputation.”

Other reliefs sought by the plaintiff include, “An order of perpetual injunction, restraining the defendants, their agents, assigns or proxies among others in whatever name or description acting on their behalf, instruction or instance from further defaming the person of the plaintiff and his reputation.

“An order of the court directing the defendants to tender type-written apology to the plaintiff for the said defamation of his person, character and reputation and same apology shall bear and contain a retraction of the said defamatory statements, utterances, allegations, posting and assertions against the plaintiff and shall be published conspicuously part of two newspapers (local and nationwide).”