JAFAR Jafar, the Publisher of the Daily Nigerian online newspaper, has insisted that video footage published by the paper, which showed the Governor of Kano State collecting bribes in dollars from a contractor, were authentic and not manipulated in any way.

He said this during an investigative hearing into the allegations by the Kano State House of Assembly on Thursday.

After the videos were published, the Kano State government issued a statement denying that Ganduje ever collected bribe from any contractor. The statement also described the videos as “cloned”, adding that the governor would explore every legal means of seeking redress.

Few days after the publication of the video clips, Ganduje told newsmen that he was not worried over the impact the video may have on him and that his blood pressure was normal as he is innocent of the accusations.

However, during Thursday’s hearing, Jafar, who attended the session alongside his lawyer, told the Kano lawmakers that the video was authentic and that Ganduje did collect the bribes as shown in the video.

Jafar said that the videos were captured by a friend of his who is a contractor with the Kano State government, and who had complained that the Ganduje receives kickbacks, ranging from 15 to 25 per cent for every project executed in the state.

He said that his friend agreed to use spy cameras attached to his kaftan to enable him to record the governor as he collected the bribes.

“He captured at least 15 clips, nine of which fully showed the governor’s face, body and hands collecting bundles of dollars,” Jafar said in a statement he submitted to the investigative panel.

“Before DAILY NIGERIAN publishes stories, pictures or videos on its website, the editors subject them to rigours of verification to establish their authenticity or otherwise.

“In the case of the video clips in question, our in-house technical expert, the editor-in-chief and editorial adviser certified that the videos were original and not doctored contents.

“Experts from Amnesty International Nigeria, BBC and Premium Times also watched the clips and certified their authenticity before we went to press.

“The first video was published on October 14, 2018, comprising two clips that occurred on two different dates as shown on the videos themselves.

“The video showed the governor receiving a bribe from a contractor in foreign currency specifically the monies were United States Dollar denominated. The video also showed his Excellency tucking these monies under his flowing gown and putting them inside an envelope.

“We are willing to share the content of the video without any form of editing to assist the committee in its investigation and to share the full clips of the others that were published to the Committee in the cause of the performance of their legislative function.”