Immigration CG ‎threatens former Channels T.V reporter with court action‎ over malicious publication

Gives 14 days ultimatum to retract report

By Yemi Adedeji, Abuja

Muhammad Babandede, Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), has issued a 14 days ultimatum to a former Channels T.V ‎reporter, Suleiman Aledeh‎ to retract an online publication he described as a false and malicious written against him or face court action.

‎The report written by Aladeh and published on his online medium, aledeh.com‎ ‎ alleged that most special promotions in the NIS are purchased and not merited.

‎T‎he report also alleged that most officers were promoted in the Nigerian Immigration after payin‎g bribe ranging from ‎N500,000 to N1 million ‎for such promotion, while ‎ some Nigerians pay as much asN50,000 to N100,000 to get the Nigerian passport.

However, Babandede i‎n the letter dated October 11th, 2017, written by Ahmed Raji, his lawyer, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),to Suleiman Aledeh and one Ayomide Ayono, said his client has been maliciously misrepresented.

He stated: “In effect, you have maliciously misrepresented our client in public glare by deliberately infusing false, dishonest and untrue assertions about him into the minds of right thinking members of the society.

“More worrisome is the fact that u were conscious of this false story, in consequence of which you systematically and intentionally failed to admit yourself to caution but resolved to pollute the media stream for unsuspecting persons‎ drink of this fabrication which was actuated by bad faith and dishonourable intention.

“Without mincing words, you have disparaged our clients by your remarks, in the eyes of right thinking members of the society; and these remarks have been found to be false and slanderous of him.

“It is imperative to bear in mind that you have 14 days from the receipt of this letter to comply with the highlighted mitigating measure, the failure of which will leave our client with no preferred alternative than to seek redress in court; the said redress which shall also include a claim that you are unfit to function as a journalist, because your defamatory and slanderous remark were borne out of an inept‎ appreciation basic codes of journalism.”