Controversy trailed the wedding Fatiha of the eldest son of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) held on Saturday in Kano state.
An online medium had reported that Malami purchased a mansion, worth N300 million for his eldest son, Abdulazeez in Abuja and also hired private jets to transport guests to the wedding Fatiha.
But, the AGF, in a statement through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu, denied the allegations, saying, there was nothing as such.
Malami described the report as, “A mischievous, deceitful and perfidious publication by the notorious factory of fake news in Nigeria, the Sahara Reporters with an intent to spread lies.”
He said it is regrettable that the information communication technology tools have been hijacked by disgruntled elements in spreading fake news and blatant lies.
In his words, “The report by the media is a clear violation of ethical journalism practices on verification of facts and authentication of claims.
“It evinces lack of professionalism and exposes rash and reckless presentation of a figment of imaginations shrouded with bigotry and bundled with sentiments of unscrupulous questions.
“For instance, he said, who is the vendor of the purported N300 million house bought for his son in Abuja? Where is the so-called mansion located in Abuja? Where are the title documents?”
While refuting the claim, Malami said “God knows that I did not purchase any house for him in Abuja. Not even a rented house was secured for my son in Abuja because he has no plan to live in Abuja.”
The Minister also stated that the allegation of hiring private jets for the marriage was preposterous, saying that he had neither a father nor mother anywhere in Nigeria to be conveyed to Kano for the wedding.
He wondered about the personalities that he conveyed to the wedding in chartered flights.
“Which jets are chartered? Who paid for the charter? Through which means was the money paid?, he asked and said that the report, “Is one of such libelous publications of which Sahara reporters is commonly known for, targeted at selected few for unsubstantiated fabricated allegations while overlooking more serious reasonable allegations visibly open against its favored sectional kinsmen.”
The Minister said that the wedding Fatiha was conducted in low-key under strict observance of the protocols and guidelines of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.
He thanked friends, well-wishers, and the general public for their prayers, goodwill for the wedding Fatiha, and expressed appreciation for the understanding demonstrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the Minister has communicated in writing notifying friends and colleagues that due to the current situation of COVID-19 he only solicited for their prayers and goodwill.
“It is important to note that the wedding Fatiha took place in Kano on Saturday 11th July 2020 in the morning. Any other activity before or after the wedding Fatiha is not connected with the marriage and we, therefore, disassociate ourselves from it in its entirety,” the statement noted.
Sahara reporters had alleged, in its reports, that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols and guidelines were flouted during the wedding Fatiha of the son of the chief law officer, as guests were seen in a video dancing and communicating close to one another without wearing face masks while spraying wads of United States dollars and naira notes on the newly married couple.
Part of the NCDC guidelines forbids social events like weddings where there are more than 20 persons in attendance.
The video of the ceremony published by SaharaReporters, on Friday, clearly showed more than the stipulated number of persons at that ceremony.
The Minister was also seen in the video spraying wads of cash at the event, against the rule of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which forbids anyone from abusing the naira by spraying and stepping on them in public.
(TRIBUNE)
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