The District Court of the FCT Holden at Wuse Zone 6 has struck out a N10 billion defamation lawsuit filed by the former permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Kyari Dikwa, against Peoples Gazette.

“In the interest of justice, and in the light of the Criminal Procedure Code Appendix A, this court shall hands off this matter,” the court ruled suo moto on July 11. “This case is hereby struck out for want of jurisdiction.”

The Gazette in June exclusively reported that scrap metal collectors, in search of palliatives in 2020, stole $4 million cash from $76 million stashed in an apartment linked to Mr Dikwa and Aisha Sadiq Odariko, a manager at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), alleged to be romantically involved with Mr Dikwa. 

Mr Dikwa, a Borno State indigene, once acted as accountant-general of the federation under President Muhammadu Buhari and retired from the civil service just before some of the hidden cash was looted.

The Gazette’s story was reliably sourced from documents and interviews provided by anti-graft officials.

Incensed by the publication, Mr Dikwa immediately went to court seeking redress over what he claimed was defamation of his character and asked for N10 billion as compensation for damages.

He also claimed he did not know the woman, an assertion that was found to be false as the NDIC soon issued a statement confirming that Ms Odariko was his account officer before she joined the corporation.

Ms Odariko herself had provided a statement to the police admitting theft of $4 million from the stockpile. Anti-graft officials said she informed them the total was $76 million, which was a humongous amount to be in the possession of any federal civil servant. She, however, did not disclose how she came about the sum.

Anti-graft officials, during the investigation, may be able to unravel the origin and whereabouts of the remaining $72 million, particularly how and why the funds were stockpiled in the apartment when Nigerians fought for survival because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For several weeks before publication, the duo rebuffed attempts for comments clarifying whether or not the allegation was true. They declined comments to us for the story.

Mr Dikwa has been trying to use the police to intimidate this outlet’s reporters following the publication. But authorities have been professional in handling the matter, and The Gazette will continue to cooperate to establish that the story was properly sourced and published without malicious intent.

Many Nigerian government officials, when exposed for engaging in illicit activities, resort to lawsuits as an intimidation tactic to silence the press, but The Gazette remains undaunted and will keep doing right to bring allegations of financial impropriety to light.