The story of a purported invasion of the residence of the Hon member of the House of Representatives, Malam Samaila Suleiman published and circulated by a fringe online portal is not only a lie unprofessionally told but a result of a failed attempt to extort money from the Rep member through blackmail.
The lawmaker and his lawyer also revealed that their checks at Kaduna EFCC office today has corroborated the fact that the story was false and malicious.
The APC Solidarity Forum Chairman Hafiz Kujama who disclosed this in a swift and sharp reaction, also described the story as the darkest imagination of an obscure publisher of a fringe online media.
The Forum said it is also as a result of a failed attempt to extort money through blackmail by the unethical publisher which was resisted by Honourable Suleiman.
The Forum also disclosed that the fake news came on the heels of telephone numbers of some anonymous callers who demanded Suleiman’s aide, Malam Rabi’u to send some cash or they give their boss some bad press with a purported EFCC raid news, which was now resisted outright.
Full text of the Forum’s response reads:
“It has come to our notice that a shamelessly fabricated fake story is being circulated about a purported invasion of the residence of the member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the House of Reps, Hon Samaila Suleiman by EFCC personnel.
“This unfounded and baseless story emanated from the publication of an obscure social media outlet called ‘Leadership ayau’ which was never heard of before now.
“The only recognized and reputable Hausa version of a newspaper that very closely have a similar title is ‘Leadership Hausa’, which has already distanced its reputation from the ‘fake leadership ayau’ .
” While the caption of the concocted story on the blog is not credited to any correspondent or reporter, details of the report can also not be substantiated on many faces.
“First, the unprofessionally packaged report claimed that the Hon Member refused to honor the EFCC invite, which he denied flatly.
“Hon Suleiman is a respectable law abiding citizen and a serving lawmaker of the Federal Republic, who moves about and associates freely in contradiction of the shameful report that suggests he is at large and wanted by the EFCC or any security agency for that matter.
“He is always sighted around his constituents holding political meetings, attending condolences, weddings, and participating in several programmes for Youths and Women, and other developmental initiatives.
“Another opaque lie in the story was the detention and interrogation of his domestic staff, whereas the entire domestic staff in the Honourable’s residence are not aware of any invasion by any arm of the law.
“What is not in doubt is the chats and text messages from some dubious people that attempted to blackmail the Hon Member into paying to avoid the publication of what they claimed to be a story capable of denting his name and political status. This was outright resisted on the firm conviction that he is not under any investigation and has not committed any crime(s) as he is always available either in his constituency or at the National Assembly.
“Evidence of the chats are available and would be forwarded to the police for appropriate steps to be taken in bringing whoever might be behind this mischief to book, just before his lawyer concludes the review of the matter and advice as appropriate.
“Meanwhile, the general public is hereby urged to disregard such misleading information that has no basis and from an unknown source, while reaffirming the Hon Member’s capabilities and willingness to responsibly continue to represent Kaduna North Federal Constituency and campaign for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir El-rufai in the 2019 elections.”
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