I Stand By My Words, Let’s Meet In Court, Naja’atu Dares Ribadu

The outspoken politician made it clear that she would not retract her statement against Ribadu. She maintained that she merely reiterated what the NSA had said years ago about the corruption status of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when the latter was the Governor of Lagos State.

The NSA, through his lawyer, Dr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), recently demanded a public apology and retraction from Naja’atu over a TikTok video he described as malicious.

In the video, Naja’atu accused Ribadu of now serving in President Tinubu’s government, despite having previously criticised him as “the most corrupt politician” during his tenure as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Ribadu, however, insisted that he had never made such remarks, either publicly or privately.

In a trending interview with a Hausa online platform, Naja’atu dismissed the NSA’s seven-day ultimatum to apologise and retract her statement, stating she was ready for a legal showdown.

“What did I do to him that I need to apologise? Have you ever seen where someone tells the truth and then retracts their comment? I stand by all I said. I’m begging Nuhu Ribadu, by God, to take me to the highest court in Nigeria. Is it not Tinubu’s court? Let him take me there. I stand by my words,” she said.

Naja’atu asserted that Ribadu had openly made the same remarks she referenced.

“What I said was what Nuhu Ribadu himself said, and the comment is still on YouTube. Let those interested search for it. Nuhu Ribadu said with his own mouth when he was EFCC Chairman that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was among the most corrupt individuals.

“He also said that among the governors in Nigeria, Tinubu led in corruption. The comment is still there on YouTube. Therefore, I will not retract my statement because I only repeated what he once said.”

She further questioned his current loyalty to President Tinubu.

“What is the lie here? That he is now prostrating for Tinubu? What is he doing as NSA? He is doing nothing other than instigating Tinubu just to remain in office. I have not retracted, and I will not retract. Let him take me to court. Let’s meet in court,” she said

Naja’atu argued that Ribadu’s comments from years ago remained relevant.

“Just because the statement was made years back doesn’t mean it should be forgotten. There’s no difference between then and now. Has he retracted his comment against Tinubu? That’s what we want to know. Did he lie against Tinubu when he mentioned Tinubu, Akume, and Orji Kalu?

“He should be the one to come out and tell Nigerians whether he lied against them. I stand by what I said. Just because he made the comment in the past doesn’t mean we should forget it. What has changed?” she queried.