A Yola chief magistrate court has sentenced Ali Yakubu Numan, a businessman, to two and a half years in prison for calling Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Adamawa governor, “father of all thieves”.
The businessman, who described Fintiri as “a thief and father of thieves”, was remanded in prison custody following his arraignment on defamation charges by the attorney-general of Adamawa state.
Numan had on July 11, 12th, 13, 17, 20 and 29, 2021, written and published insulting statements in Hausa and Fulfulde on his Facebook page against the governor.
In the publications, he described Fintiri as a thief and father of all thieves in Nigeria who stole noodles, spaghetti and billions of naira from the state coffers.
I.M. Iliyasu, and M.A. Adamu, prosecuting lawyers, had called two witnesses who testified in court and tendered confessional statements in both English and Hausa.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Japhet Basani, the magistrate, found the accused guilty of the two charges brought against him by the prosecution.
Numan was sentenced to a two-year jail term with an option of N50,000 fine for using abusive language against Fintiri. He was also sentenced to six-month imprisonment without the option of a fine for disturbance of public peace.
Earlier, R. N. Agav, Numan’s counsel, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, adding that his client is a first time offender.
