Businessman Nasiru Danu threatens to sue Peoples Gazette over alleged defamatory publication

A businessman, Nasiru Haladu Danu, has threatened to sue online newspaper Peoples Gazette over a report which described him as a “notorious fraudster” and linked him to alleged corruption in the award of a N22 billion aviation contract.

In a letter dated 4 March 2026 and addressed to the Editor-in-Chief of Peoples Gazette, Mr Danu’s lawyers, Aliyu & Musa (SAN) Legal Practitioners and Consultants, demanded an immediate retraction and public apology over what they described as a “highly defamatory publication” authored on 3 March.

The report, titled “Exclusive: Keyamo awards N22 billion NAMA headquarters project to notorious fraudster Nasiru Danu as mindless looting rages under Bola Tinubu,” allegedly accused Mr Danu of corruption, money laundering, diversion of public funds, passport fraud and other criminal misconduct.

Mr Danu, a businessman and philanthropist who holds the traditional titles of Sardaunan Dutse Emirate in Jigawa State and Tafida Babban Daura Emirate in Katsina State, said the publication falsely portrayed him as a shady individual and a fugitive.

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Through his solicitors, he described the allegations as “false, malicious and reckless,” insisting that he has never been convicted or declared wanted by any court or security agency in Nigeria or abroad.

“For the record, at no time was our client either convicted or declared wanted by any security agency anywhere in the world,” the letter stated.

It also denied claims that Mr Danu fled Nigeria for Dubai, asserting that he has remained in the country and continued his philanthropic activities during the period referenced in the report.

The lawyers further faulted the newspaper’s account of the contract award process for the purported N22 billion headquarters project of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

According to them, the report did not allege that the company involved was unqualified under procurement laws or disqualified by the Bureau of Public Procurement.

They argued that under Nigeria’s procurement framework, a minister does not directly award contracts within a ministry or its parastatals, suggesting that the publication misrepresented the role of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in the alleged contract.

Mr Danu’s legal team demanded that the newspaper:

– Immediately pull down and retract the publication from its website and all platforms within 24 hours of receipt of the letter;
– Publish a written public apology to Danu on its website with equal prominence as the original report and in two widely circulated national dailies;
– Cease further allegedly defamatory publications or communications intended to harass or malign their client.

The lawyers gave the newspaper 48 hours to comply, failing which they said Mr Danu would initiate legal proceedings to protect his reputation.

As of the time of filing this report, Peoples Gazette had not issued a public response to the threat of legal action.

BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF MR DANU’S LETTER TO PEOPLE’S GAZETTE

4th March, 2026,

The Editor in Chief,

People’s Gazette Newspaper,

Plot 1095, Umar Shuaibu Avenue,

Utako District,

Abuja.

Dear Sir,

RE: EXCLUSIVE : KEYAMO AWARDS N22 BILLION NAMA HEADQUARTERS PROJECT TO NOTORIOUS FRAUDSTER NASIRU DANU AS MINDLESS LOOTING RAGES UNDER BOLA TINUBU:

DEMAND FOR RETRACTION, PUBLIC APOLOGY, AND NOTICE OF CESSATION OF HARASSMENT AND DEFAMATORY PUBLICATIONS AGAINST NASIRU HALADU DANU

We are Solicitors to Alhaji Nasiru Haladu Danu, a reputable businessman, renowned philanthropist who holds the revered traditional title of Sardaunan Dutse Emirate, in Jigawa State and Tafida Babban Daura Emirate in Katsina State, (hereinafter referred to as “our client”), and it is on his instructions that we write to you concerning the highly defamatory publication authored and circulated by your media website on 3rd March, 2026, wherein our client was falsely portrayed as a “shady” individual involved in corruption, money laundering, diversion of public funds, passport fraud, and other criminal misconduct.

The publication portrayed our client as a culprit in several unsubstantiated allegations and insinuations designed to injure his hard-earned reputation, integrity, and standing in society.

The allegations are false, malicious, reckless, and constitute serious defamation. They were published without any proof of conviction by any court of law, either in Nigeria or abroad, and without adherence to the basic principles of responsible journalism.The allegations, as conveyed in your report, are calculated to injure our client’s reputation and to lower his image in the estimation of right-thinking members of society and were done after you had made an effort to blackmail him via a WhatsApp message by one of your reporters.

For the record, at no time was our client either convicted or declared wanted by any security agency anywhere in the world to justify such invidious publication by you. Our client has never fled Nigeria for Dubai or any other country. He has remained in the country and actively participated in many philanthropic activities during the time you claimed he was a fugitive.

Furthermore, regarding the contract alluded to in your report, it is surprising that you did not claim anywhere in your report that the company was not qualified under the procurement rules and regulations for the award of the contract by the Federal Executive Council. Neither did you claim that it was disqualified by the Bureau of Public Procurement in the award process.

The deliberate misrepresentation of unproven allegations as established, facts by your publication is calculated to injure our client’s reputation, diminish his standing in the business and political communities, and expose him to public hatred, ridicule, and contempt. If you have cared to check, as all responsible journalists are expected to, you would have known that under the current procurement regime, a Minister has no role to play in the award of a contract, either in his ministry or in the parastatals he supervises.

In view of the foregoing, our client instructed us to demand from you the following;

Immediate pulling down and retraction of the defamatory publication from your website and all platforms under your control within 24 hours of receipt of this letter;

A written public apology addressed to our client, and which must be:
• Published on your website with equal prominence as the original publication; and
• Published in two (2) widely circulated national daily newspapers in Nigeria;

Immediate cessation of further defamatory publications or indirect/direct communications (including WhatsApp messages) intended toblackmail, harass, intimidate, or malign our clients.

Be informed that if you fail to accede to our client’s modest request within 48 hours of receipt of this letter, our client will not hesitate to take further legal action against you to protect his hard-earned reputation.

Please be advised accordingly.

Yours faithfully,

Aliyu & Musa (SAN) Legal Practitioners and Consultants.

Sunusi Musa SAN

Managing Partner