By Sahel Reporters, Bauchi
A legal practitioner, Barrister Zubairu A. Bube, has challenged a company, I. S. Makayye, and its Managing Director, Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu, over what he described as false, malicious, and defamatory allegations published by Sahara Reporters on December 26, 2025.
Barrister Bube said his attention was drawn to a report titled “How Bauchi Governor’s Nephew allegedly used courts, lawyers to remand EFCC witness in N4.6 Billion fraud case”, in which his name and that of his law firm, DM Abejeme & Partners, were mentioned.
According to him, the publication recklessly misrepresented facts and was deliberately calculated to malign his personal and professional integrity.
“For the avoidance of doubt and to set the record straight, the allegations attributed to me in the said publication relate to one Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu, Managing Director of I. S. Makayye, whom I once represented strictly in my professional capacity in Suit No: BA/688M/24,” Bube stated.
He explained that Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu was introduced to him by his cousin, Aliyu Galoji, after complaining of issues at the Tafawa Balewa Housing Estate Police Station and the State CID.
Bube said his intervention was purely professional, leading to Aliyu’s release on bail. Subsequently, Aliyu narrated what he described as his ordeal involving the first respondent in the suit and two others, whom he alleged arrested him using a private Peugeot 406, took him to Abuja, claimed to be EFCC officials, and coerced him to implicate Muntaka Mohammed Duguri over funds transferred to his company’s account by Asomugha General Enterprises for the purchase of motorcycles.
Aliyu further alleged that he was forced to deny knowledge of the transactions and the opening of a Polaris Bank account and was only released after making such statements.
Barrister Bube said that when Mr. Duguri became aware of these claims, he instituted an action at the High Court of Justice, Bauchi State, for the enforcement of his fundamental rights against Jidda Abubakar Inuwa, Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu, and I. S. Makayye.
He noted that he was later formally briefed to defend Isiaka Aliyu in Suit No. BA/688M/24, during which Aliyu informed him, in the presence of his cousin and friend, Aliyu Galoji and Adamu Wambai, that he was fully aware of the transactions and that they were carried out with his consent.
Bube said this position was clearly stated in Aliyu’s Counter-Affidavit dated August 12, 2024, which Aliyu personally read and signed as a literate adult.
“To now allege deception or fabrication of court processes is not only false but intellectually dishonest, as portrayed by Sahara Reporters in its December 26, 2025 publication,” Bube said.
He also denied allegations that he colluded with Mr. Duguri or received a Honda Accord (EOD, ash colour) as gratification, describing the claim as a “barefaced lie.”
According to him, he purchased and had been using the vehicle since July 2023, long before he ever heard of Mr. Duguri, whose name was first mentioned to him by Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu in June 2024.
Barrister Bube stressed that he had no prior relationship, meeting, or communication with Mr. Duguri regarding Isiaka Aliyu or any other matter and had not represented Aliyu in 2023.
He further disclosed that Isiaka Aliyu once informed him of alleged secret conversations with EFCC officers in Abuja, aimed at implicating Mr. Duguri and the Bauchi State Commissioner of Finance, Dr. Yakubu Adamu, for pecuniary gain.
“I firmly declined and advised him to desist and do what is right. My insistence on ethical conduct angered him and eventually led to his decision to debrief me,” Bube said.
He added that this decision came despite the fact that he had earlier secured a favourable judgment for Aliyu in Suit No. BA/580M/24, where Aliyu was the first respondent.
Barrister Bube said the rejoinder became necessary to protect his reputation from what he described as a calculated smear campaign designed to falsely link him with third parties.
He called on Isiaka Mohammed Aliyu and I. S. Makayye to immediately withdraw and retract the statements published by Sahara Reporters and to issue a clear and unconditional apology within seven days of receipt of the rejoinder.
Bube warned that failure to comply would leave him with no option but to seek legal redress.
“In the event that you disregard the content of this letter, I shall be left with no option but to approach the judiciary, the last hope of the common man, to seek redress, the cost and consequences of which shall be borne by your organization,” he stated.
