A High Court sitting in Bauchi State has nullified the entire proceedings of a Magistrate Court in a defamation case involving WikkiTimes Media & Publishing Ltd and two of its journalists.
The court ruled that the lower court lacked jurisdiction in the case.
In a judgment delivered on March 24, 2026, Justice S. M. Sambowal held that the case before Chief Magistrate Court No. 3, Bauchi, “was being conducted without the requisite jurisdiction,” thereby rendering all proceedings in the matter invalid.
The suit, marked BA/1050M/2024, was filed by WikkiTimes Media & Publishing Ltd alongside Yawale Adamu and Haruna Mohammed Salisu against Abubakar Abdullahi, the Chief Magistrate Court, and its Registrar.
The court observed that the respondents failed to file any counter-affidavit or respond to the claims, leading it to treat the applicants’ submissions as unchallenged.
“Having considered the totality of the evidence… this matter has merit,” the judge ruled, granting the relief sought by the applicants.
Consequently, the High Court declared that the Magistrate Court lacked jurisdiction in case No. CMCBH/387C/2024 quashed and set aside the entire proceedings as a nullity, and made no order as to damages.
The ruling effectively brings an end to the legal action at the Magistrate Court level against WikkiTimes, its founder, and the reporter.
The lower court had earlier issued a bench warrant against the publisher of WikkiTimes for failing to appear in court, despite submissions by defence counsel, S.G. Idrees, that his client was outside the country at the time the case was instituted.
The case originated from a complaint by Abubakar Abdullahi, an aide to Mansur Manu Soro, lawmaker representing Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal constituency, who alleged that an investigative report published by WikkiTimes defamed his character.
The report had examined allegations that Mansur Manu Soro, a member of the House of Representatives, executed constituency projects through a surrogate company linked to a close associate.
Dissatisfied with the publication, Mr. Abdullahi, Soro’s surrogate, filed a defamation charge against WikkiTimes, its publisher, and reporter, Yawale Adamu.
However, in his filing, Mr. Abdullahi reportedly stated that he was neither the owner nor a director of Sahel Global Energy Ltd, a company central to the investigative report, an issue the defence relied on to challenge the Magistrate Court’s jurisdiction.
In its ruling, the High Court held that “an order be hereby made setting aside and quashing the entire proceedings of the Chief Magistrate Court No. 3, Bauchi, in case No. CMCBH/387C/2024… for being a nullity.”
WikkiTimes had faced repeated frivolous lawsuits for its accountability reporting. Many analysts believed the lawsuits fall under the category of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). They are lawsuits meant to deter newsrooms and civic actors from questioning power and demanding accountability.
