BEVERLY HILLS, CA, July 17, (THEWILL) – The Borno State Government has declared that it has a very good case against a former Information Commissioner in the state, Inuwa Bwala, who has been slammed with a N2billion libel suit.
Counsel to the state government, Barrister Hussaini Hala, who stated this, Thursday, also declared that the government now has all it takes to either send the former Commissioner to jail or make him bankrupt.
Bala, it would be recalled, was sacked as commissioner three months ago by Governor Kashim Shettima and along with an Abuja-based newspaper, in which he has an interest, National Trail, has been dragged to court over alleged libelous publications against the Borno State Government.
The counsel to the state government also accused Bwala of being unrepentant despite the court case, saying the ex-commissioner has continued in his attack on the government.
In a statement issued in Maiduguri, the state capital, Hala, who maintained that the commissioner and his newspaper were doing his client more good than damage with the serial attacks, said: “I see as positive development, continued publications against my client by National Trail, a newspaper owned by Bwala.”
According to Hala, “all my chamber wanted was to obtain three serial editions focusing negatively on the State in order to easily establish the extent of malice by the sacked commissioner, and that newspaper has given me the needed publications.”
He noted that the state government now has a robust case against the accused, saying this will ensure nothing short of speedy victory and payment of damages to his client, failure of which he said the ex-Commissioner may be heading to jail if he fails to meet damages.
“I advised the Borno State Government never to discourage the National Trail and its director, Mr. Inuwa Bwala, from their continued defamation. All I ever wanted was to have three publications and if possible, get them in serial. Thank God we have now got that. The newspaper is not called Borno Trail, it is called National Trail, meaning it is supposed to have the entire country as its focus, it won’t require too much legal argument to establish malice and grievance where an otherwise national newspaper dedicates its serial editions to one State where the publisher of the newspaper was sacked and is politically active and has even spoken on the radio against the governor on political-related issue. This is one of the best and easiest briefs I have ever had as a lawyer.
“We will meet in court and I just don’t know how the defendant can escape being found guilty of malicious defamation. I am happy. I even look forward to more publications pending when our injunction is approved,” the lawyer said.
