The Daily Nigerian and its publisher Jaafar Jaafar has alleged that Governor Ganduje and the Kano state government have mobilized thugs to ensure that the publisher does not testify before the Kano State House of Assembly.
According to the news outfit, the thugs numbering about 3,000 where mobilized from 44 local government areas of the state to disrupt the peace of Kano and scuttle the scheduled appearance of the journalist to testify before the Kano State House of Assembly.
The news outfit had published a video online showing the Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje receiving bundles of US Dollars purportedly as part of a much larger bribe from a contractor.
The Daily Nigerian had claimed at the time that the video which went viral was verified and authentic against claims by the Kano state government that it was doctored and threatened legal action against the publisher and the medium.
As the uproar created by the video increased, the Kano state House of Assembly invited the management of the Daily Nigerian as well as its publisher Jaafar Jaafar to appear before a seven-man investigative panel to answer questions regarding the authenticity of the video clips published by the newspaper.
Consequently, the online newspaper said it wrote to the police and the State Security Service, seeking adequate security “before, during and after” the investigative hearing on Thursday.
Amnesty International reportedly also wrote to the state commissioner of Police, Rabiu Yusuf, requesting security cover for the publisher before, during and after the event, although the agency is yet to receive a reply to its letter.
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The online newspaper is however alleging that it has it on good authority that the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Yusuf, has permitted the state government to mobilise thugs to create chaos.
“Thugs have already been mobilised to attack you or scuttle the hearing. On normal circumstance, the CP should not have allowed them to. The CP is complicit. That is just the truth of the matter,” the newspaper said claiming that it got the information from a security source within the Kano state government,
The Newspaper went further to allege that top government officials in Kano state pleaded with the publisher not to appear before the panel “in order to put the matter to rest”.
“If we allow you to appear before the panel, we know you will convince everybody that the clips are original.
We are managing the situation now, but your testimony will deteriorate the situation. I am telling you in confidence that government will not allow you to come.
All of us here in government, even members of the House of Assembly, know that the video clip is genuine, but we have to defend the government,”
Responding to the allegations however, the spokesperson for the Kano state Police Command, Magaji Majia, said the police had made adequate arrangement for security and the command was not intimate to any plans by the state government to mobilize thugs.
The Director-General, Media Affairs to the governor, Aminu Yassar, also responded denying any plans by the state government to disrupt the proceedings. He said the government respects the independence of the Legislature and would not scuttle the democratic process.