The leader of Lebanese community in Kano who owns the 5-star Tahir Guest Palace Limited, Mr. Tahir Fadlallah, is demanding N10 billion from the Leadership newspapers over alleged libellous publication contained in its May 31 edition.
In the said publication, the Kano-based businessman was named as one of the suspects being interrogated by security agents in connection with the weapons linked to Hezbollah which were discovered in a bunker in Kano, recently.
In a writ of summons and statement of claims filed by counsel to the plaintiff, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), Fadlallah and his company, Tahir Guest Palace, are asking for N5 billion each from the newspaper and one Bala El-Nafaty mentioned in the suit as a co-defendant.
The plaintiffs also claimed that the contentious publication entitled: "Owners of Amingo Stores and Tahir Hotels arrested," was designed to defame Fadlallah's character and tarnish the reputation of his businesses.
The plaintiffs are also seeking an injunction from the court to restrain the defendants and their agents from further publishing defamatory materials against them; praying the court to award N100 million as cost of litigation.
Security agents in Kano on May 30 discovered a bunker with assorted weapons of mass destruction in a house belonging to a prominent Kano-based Lebanese businessman in the high-brow Bompai Estate.
National Mirror