A former minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Turaki (SAN), has denied allegations of sexual harassment and inhuman treatment levelled against him by one Hadiza Baffa.
Turaki admitted that he once acted as Hadiza’s guardian at the request of her mother, who was his childhood acquaintance. However, due to her alleged repeated misconduct, he eventually withdrew his guardianship and handed her back to her family.
Hadiza had, in a recent viral video, accused the former minister of grave offences, including alleged rape, sexual assault and forced evacuation of embryos, among others.
But addressing journalists in Abuja, Turaki, through his solicitor, Abdulaziz Ibrahim(SAN), said, “Her allegations of rape, forced abortions, rituals, threats to life and breach of promise to marry her were all thoroughly investigated by the police and found to be false.”
Ibrahim claimed that after failed attempts to use the police and courts, among other means, to curry favour in her campaign of calumny against his client, Hadiza has resorted to social media to advance her ill cause.
“Our attention has been drawn to recent reports and online videos circulated by one Hadiza Musa Baffa under various captions and hashtags, including ‘Justice for Hadiza Baffa’. These materials contain falsehoods, contradictions and unfounded allegations against our client, a respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
“It has become necessary to set the records straight, as silence is being misinterpreted and unsuspecting members of the public risk being misled. In her latest videos, Hadiza attempted to discredit court records, denied issuing her WhatsApp apology, and claimed ignorance of her application to the inspector-general of police and the court to withdraw her earlier petition, resulting in the striking out of the case.
“…While a charge of “deception of marriage” was taken to court, Hadiza withdrew the case, tendered an apology, and the matter was struck out. Her father later wrote to the police, withdrawing all previous allegations and admitting that one Saidu Mohammed Mainasara was the mastermind of the blackmail,” he stated
The learned silk also claimed that, frustrated by not getting what she wanted from the police and the court, Hadiza resorted to open blackmail, making outrageous demands from Turaki, including: N850 million as a “one-off settlement” to keep silent, N47 million to clear her rent arrears and a luxury house in Maitama or Asokoro to sustain her lifestyle.
Ibrahim said Turaki rebuffed all her entreaties, insisting that Hadiza’s current online campaign is “nothing more than a desperate attempt to extort money from our client after failing through all legal and fraudulent channels.
He urged members of the public and the media to disregard her baseless allegations, saying the truth is documented, the court has spoken and no amount of blackmail will alter the facts.
