KADUNA GOVERNMENT DRAGS BISHOP TO COURT OVER ALLEGED DEFAMATORY REMARKS

 Abiodun Ogunyemi, the Anglican bishop of Zaria diocese has been arraigned before a chief magistrate’s court in Kaduna over alleged “defamatory remarks” he made against Governor Nasir el-Rufai.

 

The Bishop who was arraigned on charges bordering on criminal defamation, injurious falsehood and criminal intimidation, had criticised the governor over the planned demolition of 110-year-old St George Cathedral in Zaria.

 

In a statement released in November 2019, Ogunyemi said ,“The whole of the Sabongari Market is our land acquired in the early 1900s with genuine C of O which we have submitted to the state government for recertification. Any attempt by el-Rufai to demolish any of our properties in that market will be a direct assault on the church in the whole of Nigeria.

“The governor should know that he will never be President of Nigeria. I speak prophetically as a servant of the living God,” the bishop said.
 

However upon being arraigned on, the Biship pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. A member of the Kaduna Synod and a canon of the cathedral church of St Michael Kaduna stood in as surety.

 

The director of public prosecutions hinted that a peaceful resolution of the case is ongoing and the defence counsel also agreed to this.

 

The magistrate subsequently adjourned the case to October 28, 2020 for continuation.

BREAKING NEWS:GOV. EL-RUFAI ORDERS ARREST "NORTHERN YOUTHS" WHO ORDERED IGBOS TO LEAVE THE NORTH !

Governor El-Rufai Orders Arrest Of Miscreants Who Ordered Igbos To Leave The North And Threatened Them.

“The Kaduna State Government condemns in the strongest terms the press statement by some self-appointed “northern youths” that threatened the safety and property of our citizens of Igbo extraction.
Government assures every resident of our state that their constitutional and human rights to live peacefully and own property wherever they choose is sacrosanct. Even people who may feel unhappy about irresponsible comments or actions that have taken place in other states must know that two wrongs cannot make a right.

The Kaduna State Government believes in and will uphold the right of every Nigerian to live safely and develop his/her full potentials within its territory.

Reckless disregard for the rights of other citizens drips through the press statement by these “northern youths” who have chosen to use the discourse around restructuring to promote their own agenda of hate, division and incitement. This sort of opportunists cannot be allowed to distort debate, or turn it into a pretext for a barely-disguised agenda of displacement and dispossession of some citizens.

We will not tolerate such irresponsible statements and conduct in our state. The statement issued by the “northern youths” violates the laws of Kaduna State. Therefore, the Kaduna State Government has directed that its Ministry of Justice should prepare charges and prosecute the signatories and anyone complicit in arranging this egregious assault on the rights of fellow citizens.

Preparatory to prosecution, the police have been directed to immediately arrest, interrogate the
signatories to the statement and investigate all the circumstances and persons that may be implicated in the matter.

The Kaduna State Government urges all residents to ignore the threats from the “northern youths”. We are in contact with the leadership of the Igbo community in Kaduna, and we delighted to say that this community, like all our other communities, believes in the strength of the constitutional order to protect all citizens.

KDSG wishes to encourage all our people to celebrate the diversity with which the Almighty has blessed us, to continue to shun agents of division, and to stand firm in upholding a common humanity. Everyone has a right to live in peace and harmony.”
Samuel Aruwan

Senior Special Assistant- Media and Publicity
7th June 2017