By Mustapha Usman, Kano
A Nigerian senator, representing Kano North, Barau Jibrin, has allegedly ordered the arrest and detention of a Kano politician, Yakubu Dangawan-Jingau, over indirect comments doubting his indigeneship of Kabo Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Jibrin first contested and won election as member of the House of Representatives, representing Tarauni Federal Constituency between 1999 and 2003 but suddenly switched indigeneship to Kabo Local Government Area when he wanted to contest for senator and represent Kano North.
But Mr. Dangawan-Jingau’s travails began when he spoke on a local radio station, Express Radio, making indirect comments that the senator, who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), has abandoned his people.
Sources said the comment that angered the senator most was Mr Dangawan-Jingau’s allusion that senator could not pay the transport cost of delivering a bull to his brother in Niger State, and that he (Mr Dangawan-Jingau) would follow up to see what would happen to the bull afterwards. He was perhaps insinuating that the bull would be used for rituals.
A day after Mr Dangawan-Jingau’s innuendo-laden remarks on radio, police from the State Investigation and Intelligence Bureau, SIB, in Kano swooped on him.
DAILY NIGERIAN gathered that he was detained at the SIB in Bompai for four days before he was arraigned before an Upper Shariah Court sitting in Jigirya, Kano on Friday.
He was charged with defamation of character and intentional insult, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Although Mr Dangawan-Jingau’s lawyer, Abdullahi Ibrahim, had argued that the offence was bailable, the judge, Abubakar Khalid, denied the accused bail.
The judge then adjourned the case till February 8 for ruling on the bail application.
Calls to Mr Jibrin’s three mobile numbers were not getting through. He did not also reply text messages sent to his mobile numbers on Friday.
