Former Commissioners of Science and Technical Education in Zamfara State, Muhammad Muntaka Rini, his counterpart Mukhtar Muhammad Lugga and two others have demanded for an apology, retraction and compensation to the tune of N2,000,000,000.00 two Billion naira from Alh. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi over what they termed as false and malicious allegations targeted at destroying their hard earned reputation.
It could be recalled that, early last week, Alh. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi wrote a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC against Muhammad Muttaka Rini, Mukhtar Muhammad Lugga and two others for alleged scandals in the contract awarded for the procurement of text books worth N450,000,000, exercise books worth N378,000,000, and Charcol worth N50,000,000, totalling N878,000,000.00.
In his petition, Alh. Shinkafi urged the EFCC the need for the commission to embark on forensic audit of the book of account, cash inflow, Muntaka Rini bank account domiciled at Zenith Bank Nig. Plc, request for e-payment transfer dated 20th /6/2017 as per reference No: MOF/CA/SB/EPT/002/2017/ to branch manager of the UBA.
But in a swift reaction to the petition, Muntaka Rini, Muhtar Muhammad Lugga, Bello Abubakar Ruwan Doruwa, and Adamu Muhammad Adamu through their counsel, J. C Shaka Esq, maintained that ‘’the petition and attendant publication to the world at large as intended by Sani Shnkafi has considerably disparaged/defamed their characters as it portrays them as irresponsible, unscrupulous, untrustworthy, public officers, common thieves and looters of public treasury in the eyes of the world at large and people of Zamfara state in particular’’
They maintained further that they were naturally embarrassed by the said publication and have been put to mental torture and anguish by the unwarranted, false and malicious publications by Sani Abdullahi Shnkafi.
To laid the matter to rest, the victims demanded among other things: an immediate written retraction of the false and malicious allegations and copied to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, unreserved written apology addressed to the victims and copied to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, publication of both retraction and apology in the same media including Facebook by which the false malicious publication was made to the world by the petioner and payment of N2,000,000,000.00 two Billion naira only as compensation for defaming the characters of the victims.
The victims through their counsel, had given a grace of 7 days from the date of this letter within which to comply with all the terms of this demand and failure to do so will make the victims take further instruction to commence legal action for recovery of punitive/exemplary damages against you.
