The Zamfara State House of Assembly has asked the state Attorney General to take legal action against Anas Sani-Anka, editor-in-chief of Thunder Blowers, an online newspaper, for alleging that some lawmakers took bribes to thwart the administration of the Governor of the state, Dauda. Legal.
The journalist was reportedly heard on audio saying that a former state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, gave him 100 million naira to bribe 17 of the 24 members of the House, to thwart the Lawal administration.
Lawal, a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), defeated Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March to become governor.
Messrs. Yari and Matawalle have been political allies since 1999. Mr. Yari was the main funder of the APC in the state.
The Assembly decided to sue the journalist after Bello Mazawaje and his deputy, Rilwanu Nagambo, filed the motion on Tuesday.
Lawmakers unanimously agreed that Sani-Anka was intimidating them and called for the immediate closure of their online newspaper, Thunder Blower, which they say was created to witch-hunt people of proven integrity.
“Later, President Bilyaminu Ismail Moriki announced that the House had unanimously decided to ask the State Attorney General and the Justice Commissioner to take legal action against Anas Sani Anka for blackmailing all state legislative members,” the spokesman said. of the Assembly, Bello Madaro. he said in a statement.
Audio recording
In the four minute and 13 second audio, a person purported to be Mr. Sani-Anka, told two unidentified women that the court ruling would be in favor of the APC. He then proceeded to say that Yari is sponsoring members of the state assembly.
The APC questions the arrival of Lawal, from the PPD, as governor of Zamfara before the electoral court for governor.
“Write it down, if we are alive in the next month, the court (court) will give us the seat. (governor)… Abdulaziz (Mr. Yari) told us “Dr., you should go back, I swear to God that this trial will be in our favor…” he told the ladies.
The discussion leaned towards the House of Assembly.
“Listen, didn’t you see that they (the members of the State Assembly) locked up the house today? Tonight, I swear to God, Shehi (a nickname for Mr. Yari in Zamfara) sent us 100 million naira to give to the 17 legislators. Yes, those 17 legislators. You know that they are the ones who have formed a group (against the incumbent governor, Mr. Lawal). We will give them the money tonight… I collected the money personally… I collected them in Abuja dollars…” he said.
Mr. Sani-Anka also said you could use your online tv to insult whoever you want to insult. He told one of the ladies to come as a guest on a show and insult Mr. Lawal in order to get money from the Governor.
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Mr. Sani-Anka did not respond to the calls or SMS sent to him by this journalist. But in a now-deleted Facebook post, the journalist said he would not respond to the audio calls because agents from the State Security Service are investigating the matter.
APC and PPD react
The APC in the state has denied that Sani-Anka is a party member.
The party also said that the journalist confessed in the audio clip that he is a friend of the incumbent governor, Mr Lawal, and did not mention that he is a friend of any of the leading APC members.
“In addition, the distinguished senator Abdul Aziz Yari, from whom Anas claimed to have collected money, has been out of the country for a long time now that the PPD will try to get him into their mess,” said Yusuf Idris, an APC spokesman in the state said in a statement.
Idris alleged that the PPD is raising these issues to intimidate the Zamfara gubernatorial electoral court and blackmail the APC.
For its part, the PPD said it seeks an immediate investigation into the accusations made by the journalist.
Speaking to reporters in Gusau, state PDP chairman Moukhtar Lugga said the party has every reason to doubt the credibility of a recent court ruling that asked its member to vacate his seat in the House of Assembly for the APC candidate.
Lugga said the PPD wants the National Judicial Commission and the Police Inspector General to investigate the allegations raised in the audio clip.
“We urgently want to call on the former Governor of Zamfara and distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic representing Zamfara West (Mr. Yari) to clear his name of the accusations of bribery, financial incentives and corruption leveled against him by Anas Sani-Anka”, Lugga said.
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