Kaduna High court orders Union Newspapers to apologise, pay 10 million naira to Gov. Nasir Elrufai.
Written by News Room on November 3, 2021
A High Court in Kaduna State has ordered Today Publishing Company, publishers of The Union newspaper, to tender an apology and pay 10 million naira for defaming the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Governor El-Rufai had approached the court in 2015 after the newspaper published false claims about his assets declaration, in suit number KAD/KDH/285/15, which had Today’s Publishing Company Ltd as a defendant.
Delivering judgement, the presiding judge, Justice M.L. Muhammed of the Kaduna State High Court, ordered the defendants to pay El-Rufai the sum of 10 million naira as general damages and tender an apology which must be published in two national dailies.
The court held that the plaintiff had clinically demonstrated through his pleadings and evidence led in support that he never declared assets worth 90 billion naira and 40 mansions.
The court held that by Exhibits 1 and 2 (the print and electronic versions of the said publication), the plaintiff had shown that indeed the offending material was published by the defendants to third parties.
Amen J. Kantiyok
