N51 Billion Fraud: Zahra Buhari Sues Sahara Reporters For False Accusation

President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Zahra Buhari-Indimi, has threatened to sue SaharaReporters for allegedly accusing her alongside some top officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and  All Progressives Congress, chieftain, Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu over a N51 billion fraud.

Zahra made the threat in a letter signed by her counsel, Nasiru Adamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), to the newspaper.

SaharaReporters had reported how Danu and some top Customs operatives diverted over N51 billion meant to improve the agency’s revenue.

A source said the fraud, which implicates the Comptroller General of the NCS, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), was named “Revenue Assurance Fraud" by some officials of the agency.

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Another source said N2.5 billion was also transferred to a foundation owned by the President’s daughter, of which Danu is a signatory.

“Some top Customs operatives and one Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu shared N51 billion. N2.5 billion out of the funds was transferred to a foundation owned by President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter.

“Comptroller-General Hameed Ali has been on low key since the scandal broke out. They have him by the vice grip,” one of the sources had said.

But in her reaction, Zahra demanded from SaharaReporters a retraction with an apology carried with the same prominence on its platform and three national dailies for seven (7) consecutive days.

“Our client equally unequivocally states that no foundation owned by her was transferred to or credited with such amount of money (N2.5 billion or any amount) by the said Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu or anybody from the purported President Muhammadu Buhari’s oil mafia group and that it is equally not possible for the said Danu to be a signatory to any foundation owned by our client,” the letter said.

“We consequently have our client’s instructions to make the following demands from you to wit; A retraction of the said damaging and defamatory as well as the injurious publication.

“A retraction of the defamatory publication made @SaharaReporters tweet in respect of the publication in question.

“A public apology to our client be issued vide your website and Twitter account @SaharaReporters be published for seven (7) consecutive days.

“Public apologies be published in at least three (3) newspapers with online and physical presence across Nigeria for seven (7) consecutive days.”