The Chairman of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state, Hon. Abdullahi Abbas, has warned of a potential lawsuit against the state’s Attorney General, Haruna Isa Dederi.
Dederi accused APC leaders of meddling with the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
In a letter dated November 23, Abbas demanded that Dederi retract his defamatory statements within 48 hours or face the possibility of being reported to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
Dederi claimed on national television that the Tribunal’s decision to deliver judgment via Zoom was due to interference.
He further alleged that justices of the appellate court were influenced by external forces with political interests, impacting the judgment’s outcome.
Abbas highlighted that Dederi also made a voice recording contradicting the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal regarding a clerical error in the judgment. This action is part of the broader accusations made by the Attorney General.
The APC chairman said in the letter copied President of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA and the Kano state chairman of the association, “In the said voice note, you made innuendos suggesting that the Justices of the Court of Appeal were indeed compromised.
“From the above statements, it is clear for any discerning mind to infer that you were suggesting influence on the judges by our party leaders, which you know is far from the truth.
“I also received various threats including attempts to attack my house in Kano. Your careless words have created so much tension casting aspersion on my person by demeaning my reputation in society.
“Consequent upon the above, I therefore demand that you come forward and mention the names of those who had hands in interfering with the judgment of the two courts. This will go a long way in cleansing the society of corruption. It will also clear my name and protect against unnecessary attacks your comments have subjected me to. But if you have no proof of the serious allegations you made, I demand that you publicly apologize to me and my party for the embarrassment you caused us.
“As a lawyer, I need not remind you of the provisions of your professional code with respect to courts and judges. Your allegations against the judges and justices are very grievous, more so if they turn out to be false.
“I, therefore, by this letter, give you an ultimatum of 48 hours to back your allegations against the Judges and Justices that they were influenced to give judgment contrary to the law as you claimed.
“Please note that if you fail to meet my demands as stated above, I shall not hesitate to file a petition against you at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee as well as institute an action for defamation against you in court, and this we shall do without further recourse to you.”
