Our boss is being blackmailed
– Spokesman
A young cameraman, Abdulsalam Al-Amin has since last year been locked in a serious battle with the Director of Media in the El-Rufa’i governorship campaign organisation in Kaduna state over alleged unpaid balance of payments for a television and radio campaign jingle. NASIRU DAMBATTA talks to both sides, in this exclusive report
A young cameraman, Abdulsalam Al-Amin has accused the campaign media director of Kaduna state APC governorship candidate, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i of swindling him. Al-amin, who made the allegation while speaking exclusively to the Blueprint said he was on 23rd November, 2014 contacted by El-Rufai’s media director, Alhaji Ashiru Zuntu, in the presence of one Malam Idris of Liberty Radio/TV and commissioned to produce a campaign jingle in support of Malam el-Rufa’i’s governorship, to which he obliged.
He stated that after producing the jingle, he was asked by Alhaji Zuntu to release a copy for the governorship candidate to preview and grant approval, to which he said he obliged based on trust that he would be paid subsequently. From then on a drama over the payment has dragged on till today.
Al-Amin further claimed that the jingle was billed to be aired on four different electronic media stations, namely NTA, AIT, Liberty and DITV at a cost of N140,000 per slot. He said he was shocked when he was called upon by the managing director of Liberty Radio and was handed down the sum of N70,000 as “a message from el-Rufa’i campaign office”, but without details about when the balance payment of N490,000 would be paid. He revealed this development was contrary to an assurance by way of signed undertaking by el-Rufa’i’s media director about payment of the total sum of “N560,000” on the 27th of November 2014.
Events reached a head when Al-Amin’s partners in the jingle production project mounted pressure on him to account for the balance of the N490, 000 – along with threats to extract their pound of flesh from him. A frustrated Al-Amin made complaints to his bosses at the Liberty Radio/TV station only to be told by the Managing Director to choose between withdrawing the complaint and resigning from the services of Liberty Radio/TV station. Al-Amin said he chose to resign in order to prove his innocence to his partners in the jingle production.
The tension that followed his resignation heightened with an alleged threat by El-Rufa’i media director to “deal” with him.
Earlier on January the 3rd 2015, Al-Amin had cause to send an SOS to Malam El-Rufa’i for the governorship candidate to intercede directly in the matter. Weeks later, on January 19th he followed up with a reminder to Malam el-Rufai. He said the first letter appealing to El-Rufa’i to intervene was received by an Acting Secretary in the organisation on 3rd January, 2015; whilst the follow-up copy was received by one Hayatu Lawal S.A. It is not yet clear if El-Ruaf’i had seen the two letters as it is also difficult to prove whether the letters were blocked.
A source inside the campaign organisation noted that it was impossible for El-Rufa’i to have seen such a matter and refuse to take action, “more so when the organisation is run with sufficient funds and based on cash-flow”.
The source added that anyone who knew El-Rufa’i, would readily admit that he hates injustice with a passion, explaining further that the development could have been dragging on for so long due to a cover-up of his lieutenant’s alleged swindling of the young man.
Caught between proving his innocence by resigning from office and alleged additional threat by the campaign media director, and the uncertainty about whether his letters of appeal directed at the governorship candidate were actually delivered, Al-Amin approached a lawyer at the A.M. Imam Associates in Kaduna. Al-Amin’s lawyer filed a complaint to the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police on the 9th of February 2015, a copy of which was made available to Blueprint.
Al-Amin lawyers’ letter said of the undertaking between the media Director and the young man thus: “Sir, we are convinced that the trust existed in giving him (el-Rufa’i’s media director) the work and by producing it before advancing a single kobo and it was subsequently breached when he failed to pay up the balance and aired same”.
The petition, titled ‘Complaint of criminal intimidation and breach of trust against one Ashiru Haruna Zuntu, Director media, El-Rufai campaign organisation’, drew the attention of the state police commissioner to the fact that “Mr. Ashiru himself undertook upon himself to severely deal with our client in a manner he can never forget or even imagine”. The lawyers further observed in the petition that the second reason for writing the police commissioner was “due to the insecurity of our immediate environment and nobody knows what will come up tomorrow”.
Another attempt made by Blueprint yesterday morning to get further details from the Media Director, Alhaji Ashiru through his cell phone ended in futility, when he referred Blueprint to his lawyer, Barrister Lere.
In response the Barrister claimed that while Al-Amin wrote to the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, they have also filed a petition of criminal intimidation by Al-Amin against the media Director. Lere, who asked for an email address, through which he would send a copy of the petition failed to do so.
The political editors’ email address was sent to him via short message service at 9.28 am. He also assured on his decision to furnish Blueprint with details of how his client, the Media Director petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Suleman Abba over Al-Amin’s blackmail and intimidation. Several calls placed to his MTN and Airtel lines appeared to have been ignored throughout the day.
For now, it is left to be seen whether or not Malam El-Rufa’i would eventually gets the details of this matter and intercede to save the young man. Or whether the matter would snowball into a court room circus between Al-Amin and his partners on one hand and the media director and his friends on the other hand.