Construction Companies drag Online Medium, WikkiTimes to Court over Report Exposing Mismanagement Of N290million Meant For Kano Classroom Projects
Some construction companies involved in the building of 20 units of one Block- of 2-Classrooms with furniture, toilets, and offices in selected locations across the three senatorial districts in Kano State have instituted a suit before a Kano Magistrate court against an online media platform, WikiTimes over allegedly false and libellous publications against them.
An investigation by a journalist, Elijah Akoji of WikkiTimes had revealed how the companies were allegedly used by the Nomadic Education Commission in Kano State to divert N290million, with two of it belonging to the same individuals.
In 2018, the National Commission for Nomadic Education, under the Ministry of Education budgeted over N500 million for the Construction of 20 Nos of one Block- of 2-Classrooms with Furniture, Toilets, and Offices in Selected Locations across the three senatorial districts in Kano State.
Four years down the line and after payment of about N300m to companies selected to undertake the project, the benefiting communities are yet to see any of the classrooms set to be constructed.
The classroom projects were awarded to 6 contractors including S.A.T Engineering Service LTD, M. Sulum Nigerian LTD and Emacs Engineering Consultant.
Road Hotoro Kano, Haitel Nig LTD is located at No, 214 Mohammadu Vice Adamu road Hotoro GRA.
In the same vein, S.A.T Engineering Service LTD also operates from No. 30 Sabara Avenue Hotoro GRA Kano.
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A visit to the addresses the companies claim revealed that the entire locations are residential, even long before the companies were established.
No contact information of these companies was available online; as there was no website, emails, phone numbers or social media address of any of the companies. The reporter could not have any means of contacting them; this is even more compounded since the addresses they claim to operate from, remain fictitious.
For Haitel Nig Limited, the firm was registered as a Hotel and Hospitality Company-a clear evidence that the company is unqualified to be awarded the contract.
WikkiTimes could not find any area of specialisation for M. Sulum Nigeria LTD as its profile on the CAC portal does not specify any business type.
These two companies, M. Sulum Nigeria LTD and Haitel Nig LTD, received a total of 60,451,227.04 million naira from the commission as the first tranches of payment on the same date.
When this medium visited the location of the 4th company MGK Global Service LTD, which claimed to be operating from Suit 3 ground floor 12/133 as provided to the CAC, it was discovered that the address is occupied by Standard Construction Limited.
According to Saidu Jakada, a staff of Standard Construction Limited, “MGK is just the initials of Muhammad Garba Kauga, who used to be my colleague and staff of Standard Construction Limited to, he left the company and established his own MGK Global Service LTD, I don’t know anything about him or where he stays.”
Angered by the report, S.A.T Engineering Service LTD, Emacs Engineering Consultant, Haitel Nig LTD and it’s owner, Alhaji Surajo Marshal approached the court describing the publication as “untrue, malicious, unfounded and wicked”.
