Publisher of Daily Nigerian, an online news paper, Malam Jaafar Jaafar on Thursday told the 7-man committee investigating the alleged $5m bribery scandal leveled against Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje that he never contacted either the governor or any of his aides to balance
his story.
He however insisted that the video clips he released to the public was genuine and authentic.
Speaking under cross examination by the Committee Chairman at the public hearing held at the Council Chamber of the Kano State House of Assembly yesterday, Jaafar said he had been privileged to get the clips from a whistle blower with the governor captured receiving the alleged bribe, stressing that he went ahead to publish history, because the State government had already issued a statement debunking
the allegation.
According to him, he had been obliged not to disclose the identity of the whistle blower in line with the norm of absolute confidentiality, positing that the clips were thoroughly scrutinised,
examined and well analysed by graphic experts who reached the conclusion that the clips were genuine and that he had not in any way tampered or doctored it for primordial considerations.
He said” I was able to secure the video clips in September this year, but was opportune to see it for quite a long time. I was not in a haste to release them because I had wanted to convince myself about
its authenticity. as you see me now with the Glorious Quran strapped to my shoulder , I am ready to swear before this panel that the video clips are genuine, real and authentic”
“My action was never informed by any primordial considerations or politically motivated or purposefully being orchestrated to tarnish and smear the reputation of governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. I am
never sponsored by any politician to release the clips on account of dancing to the whims and caprices of any individual,” he added.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the 7-man Committee, Dr. Babba Danagundi who also chaired the cross examination session supported by the State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Barrister Ibrahim Mukhtar, said even-though the Daily Nigerian publisher has told the committee that he had engaged the services of graphic experts to examine the clips, there was the compelling need for governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to be given the chance to engage his own experts to effect a similar exercise.
