Bauchi Legal Practitioner Refutes Allegations, Sets Record Straight
By Ahmed Ahmed
A Bauchi-based legal practitioner, Barrister Zubairu A. Bube of DM Abejeme & Partners, has refuted allegations linking him to alleged misconduct in an ongoing N4.6 billion fraud-related matter, describing the claims as false, malicious, and a calculated attempt to tarnish his professional reputation.
In a detailed rejoinder issued on Thursday,
Barr. Bube said his name was recklessly mentioned and grossly misrepresented in a recent publication that relied on allegations attributed to one Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu, Managing Director of I.S. Makayye. He stressed that the narrative presented against him was misleading and devoid of factual basis.
Barr. Bube explained that his interaction with Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu was purely professional.
According to him, Aliyu was introduced to him by a cousin, Aliyu Galoji, after complaining of issues at a police station. He said he intervened strictly in his capacity as a legal practitioner and successfully secured bail for him.
He further disclosed that Aliyu later narrated an alleged ordeal involving his arrest by individuals who reportedly claimed to be officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and allegedly coerced him to implicate one Muntaka Mohammed Duguri over funds transferred to his company account for the purchase of motorcycles. Following these claims, Barr.
Bube said Mr. Duguri instituted a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the High Court of Justice, Bauchi State, against the parties involved.
According to the lawyer, Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu formally briefed him to represent him in the suit, marked BA/688M/24.
He stated that during the brief-taking process, Aliyu voluntarily and without inducement admitted, in the presence of witnesses, that he was fully aware of the transactions in question and that they were carried out with his consent.
This position, Barr. Bube noted, was captured in a counter-affidavit dated August 12, 2024, which Aliyu personally read and signed.
Barr. Bube also dismissed allegations that he colluded with Mr. Duguri received any form of gratification, including a Honda Accord vehicle, describing such claims as “a barefaced lie.”
He clarified that he purchased the said vehicle in July 2023, long before he ever heard of Mr. Duguri, and maintained that he had no prior relationship or dealings with him.
He further revealed that Aliyu once informed him of alleged plans involving law enforcement officers aimed at implicating certain individuals for pecuniary gain, an offer he said he firmly rejected on ethical grounds.
Barr. Bube said the rejoinder became necessary to protect his integrity from what he described as a deliberate smear campaign, adding that he reserves the right to seek appropriate legal redress against any further defamatory publications.
