On August 23, News Website, @SaharaReporters SaharaReporters ran a story with the headline ‘Kaduna Government Takes Bishop To Court For Saying Governor @elrufai Will Never Be Nigeria’s President’. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/411310-fact-check-is-anglican-bishop-ogunyemi-on-trial-for-saying-el-rufai-will-never-be-president.html

The website added that Mr Ogunyemi made the statement in November 2019 over the demolition of churches in Kaduna State.

In its own version of the story, also published on August 23, @TheDailyTimes said ‘Kaduna Government charges Anglican Bishop to court for saying Mr El-Rufai will never be President’. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/411310-fact-check-is-anglican-bishop-ogunyemi-on-trial-for-saying-el-rufai-will-never-be-president.html

The first two paragraphs of the story read, “The Kaduna State Government has arraigned an Anglican Bishop of Zaria Diocese, Abiodun Ogunyemi, in court for saying that the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, will never be President of Nigeria, Daily Times gathered.

It is a fact that Bishop Ogunyemi commented on November 23, 2019 that Governor El-Rufai will never be president of Nigeria. It is also factual that the bishop was arraigned before a chief magistrate’s court in Kaduna on August 4.

https://www.zariadiocese.org.ng/2019/11/13/archbishop-lamidos-appeal-to-kaduna-state-response-from-diocese-of-zaria/

He appeared again in court on August 17 when the magistrate adjourned the case to October 28 to give room for a possible out-of-court settlement.

But the documents reviewed by DUBAWA and PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr Ogunyemi is standing trial for defamation of character, injurious falsehood and criminal intimidation, and not for saying that Governor El-Rufai will never be president.

Read More Here: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/411310-fact-check-is-anglican-bishop-ogunyemi-on-trial-for-saying-el-rufai-will-never-be-president.html