By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Magistrate Safiya Salihu of Bauchi Chief Magistrate Court 12 has issued warrant of arrest on five top management staff of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi for their failure to appear before the court last Wednesday.
They are Dean Faculty of Management Sciences Dr. S.I Ningi, Deputy dean faculty of Management Sciences Dr. Umar Usman, Director General studies [GNS] faculty of Management Sciences Dr. Babangida Yerima, Head of department [Draft] faculty of management Dr. Y.B Maiwada and head of department [DMTT] faculty of management of the university Dr. Tijjani Abubakar.
The University chiefs were found have committed contempt of cour following their failure to appear before the court Wednesday 17th January, 2018 to respond to a suit instituted by their colleague, one Dr. Idris Isyaku Abdullahi for alleged deformation.
Dr. Idris Isyaku Abdullahi had through his counsel alleged that his colleagues defamed him in a petition letter they allegedly written and submitted to the Vice Chancellor of the institution sometime on 19th June, 2017.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Nasara Joshua said, “The accused persons wrote in the said letter that his client brought an unknown person into campus and pointed out some staff whom he considers enemies to the individual”.
The document also states that the accused persons further alleged in the petition that the complainant has pronounced how he intended to eliminate ‘his enemies and propagated campaign of calumny on some staff and the faculty as a whole’.
”We therefore crave the indulgence of this Honourable court under section 78 of the penal code to cause the accused persons to pay the sum of five million Naira [5, 000, 000] for defamation of character and a public apology in one of the national dailies and a media house within the state capital”.
It was gathered that after the failure of the accused university staff to appear before the magistrate, the judge issued arrest warrants on the five dependents and also ordered their remand until 24th January for continuation of hearing over the case.
The counsel to the dependents, Barrister S.D Idrees has told the magistrate that his clients lost confidence on her to be impartial which led to the transfer of the case to another magistrate court number four, Federal Low Cost, Bauchi.
Meanwhile, the dependents also secured a restraining order from Bauchi state high court 5 which stopped the police from arresting and remanding the ATBU management officers as ordered by the lower court.
