Popular Nigerian rapper, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz has condemned the sentence of Kano musician, Mohammed Yusuf, to two years imprisonment for defaming the character of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje in a viral song.
Mohammed Yusuf, popularly known as AGY, had recorded a hit song where he lashed out at Governor Ganduje over his alleged avarice, creation of new emirates in the state and election rigging.
Mr. Yusuf, in the song, also stated that the governor can sell his wife, Goggo, because of money.
He was then sentenced to two years in jail by a magistrate’s court in Kano for defaming the character of the state governor in the viral song.
Reacting to his arrest, Falz took to his Instagram page condemning the court ruling, adding that ‘state machinery should not be used to harass citizens’.
The controversial rapper, who described the court ruling as shameful, stated that anybody who feels defamed by any statement made by another person can be sue for libel or slander under the law of defamation. He wrote:
“Hate to see stuff like this! This is 2019. Any individual who feels defamed by any statement made by another person can sue for libel or slander under the law of defamation.
“It is shameful to see public officers using the machinery of the state to harass citizens and attempting to hinder our inalienable freedom of expression.
“Anyone who knows the musician Mohammed Yusuf personally should please get in touch with me. We need to contend with this unjust sentence.”
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