Bauchi High Court strikes out suit against Polity newspaper

From Ahmed Kaigama.Bauchi

A Bauchi High Court 6 has struck out a suit filed by the Chairman Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Alhaji Abdullahi Dabo, against the Polity Weekly Newspaper, seeking of N 1 billion as damages for what he termed as defamation of character.

Delivering judgment in the case in Bauchi, Justice Sabo said the case filed by Alhaji Abdullahi Dabo for defamation of character against Nusi and Nabel Communications limited and Yusif Idris publisher of the polity weekly news paper lacked jurisdiction and therefore struck out the case.

Council to the defendant, Barr. Garba Hassan told press men that the nifty of the action in the court was that the plaintiff filed the case in a wrong court, because the law described places where such case is supposed to be filed, as the nature of the case would determine where it is suppose to be instituted.

“‘The action against The Polity newspaper and claiming for N1 bn on malicious publication the true of the matter is supposed to be file in Kaduna where the news paper company is based, the publication took place in Kaduna and therefore the law required that the right place where the action should be file is in Kaduna not Bauchi where the defendant resides,” counsel said.

The counsel recalled that Dabo himself testified during the court proceedings,

On politicians who usually sue news paper Houses, Barr. Garba Hassan charged them to exercise restraints and allow the press to fairly express their views on critical issues, as fair criticisms could not always be taken as malicious or defamatory.