The Chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammed has instituted a case of defamation against Ibrahim Garba Wala for maliciously and baselessly accusing him of ‘coveting not less than N3 billion for himself” during the just concluded hajj.

In a suit filed at Federal High Court Abuja by his solicitor, Prof. Yusuf Dankofa, Mukhtar is asking the court to order the defendant to pay him N100 million, "being general damages suffered by the plaintiff arising from the defamation of the character and reputation of the plaintiff by the defendant.”

Mukhtar also sought an order of the court to direct the defendant to tender an unequivocal apology to him for the defamatory statements contained in the publication in a reputable daily newspaper.

The plaintiff further asked the court to grant him an order directing the defendant to render a retraction on the defamatory statement in the same medium.

Wala was alleged to have maliciously published in his Facebook platform a defamatory statement which stated:“Corruption in Hajj Commission! Official documents made available to CATBAN reveals that the Chairman of NAHCON after the 2017 Hajj operations made not less than N3,000,000 for himself.”

According to the writ of summon, “the defendant is the promoter of Citizens Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN) domiciled in Abuja FCT, an NGO that specialises in blackmail and extortion of hapless, innocent and unsuspecting citizens”

The case has been slated for hearing on December 4.