By Haruna M SALISU & Kamal IDRISS
ONE Abbas Ahmed Sallau, an assistant registrar of a magistrate court in Bauchi State, was caught on record explain how he attempted to derail a case against a journalist, Ibrahim Bababa of Albarka Radio.
Bababa had instituted legal action against Ali Shehu, popular known as Dan Turawan Dass, who allegedly raided Albarka Radio on January 16, 2019, and attacked the journalist for “airing an unfavourably political programme.”
The case was scheduled for mention on January 31, 2022, before Justice Mashkura Abubakar of Magistrate Court 11 at Games Village but was abruptly disrupted ‘without convincing reason,’ Bababa said.
Bababa said the assistant registrar of the court tried to derail the case through dubious means.
He said, “The assistant registrar called me on the phone. He thought was that he was speaking with Dan Turawan Dass. He told me that he has some information to share with me in respect of my case with Ibrahim Bababa; presumably, his thought was that he was speaking with Dan Turawan Dass.
“He told me that he was trying to curry favour for me, and that is why he dribbled Bababa in the court by ensuring that the Magistrate strikes out the case for mention on January 31 2022”, Bababa recalled.
In the audio conversation between Bababa and Abbas, obtained by WikkiTimes, the assistant registrar was heard narrating how he curried favour for Dan Turawan Dass when the case appeared for mention.
Abbass said he told Bababa to go out of the courtroom to call his lawyer. Abbas explained he timed this to coincide with when the case was to be called. That way, he was able to tell the judge that neither ithe complainant (Bababa) nor his representative was in court.
When WikkiTimes confronted the assistant registrar regarding his phone conversation with Bababa, he denied any wrongdoing. The assistant registrar also ended his call abruptly when our reporter continued with his interrogation.
Subsequent calls put to his line did not connect.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ has reported that Nigeria is one of the countries where journalists are unsafe. According to CPJ, between 1992 to 2021, at least 24 Nigerian journalists have either died or got missing while doing their jobs.
A recent press statement by a Coalition of Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has condemned continuous attacks on journalists and called on the Nigerian government to prioritise the protection of media workers in the country.
This report was republished from Wikki Times.