A Bauchi State High Court has ordered WikkiTimes Media and Publishing Limited to pay ₦105 million in damages for defamation after ruling that the platform falsely linked a mining company and two individuals to terrorism and illegal mining in an investigative report published in 2023.
This was contained in a court judgement obtained on Friday by our correspondent dated December 3, 2025.
Justice Abdulkadir Lamido-Kabir of High Court 7 delivered the judgment on Wednesday in a suit filed by MinXin Mineral Separation Ltd and two individuals, Ali Arzuka and Ibrahim Usman-Adam. The plaintiffs had accused WikkiTimes of publishing a report that portrayed them as collaborators of notorious terrorist kingpin, Dogo Gide.
The court awarded ₦100 million in general damages and ₦5 million as cost of action, describing the publication — and a photograph showing the plaintiffs beside Dogo Gide — as “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
“The publication falsely linked the plaintiffs to terrorism and illegal mining activities,” Justice Lamido ruled.
The September 2023 report alleged that Chinese-linked mining companies operating under Eso Terra Investment Limited and Majelo Global Resources Limited were engaged in illegal mining in Kurebe and neighbouring communities in Shiroro LGA of Niger State, and that they allegedly paid bribes to a faction of Dogo Gide’s armed group to access mining sites.
But the plaintiffs argued that the report damaged their reputation globally. Their counsel, Emmanuel Danjuma, told the court that the content was accessible worldwide and had exposed them to public hatred despite holding valid mining leases — ML 45933 and ML 4314 — in Shiroro.
They also claimed that a photo originally taken with the Niger State governor was “manipulated to depict them with Dogo Gide.”
The court agreed, finding that the publication injured their reputation and linking them to criminal activities without justification.
Justice Lamido further ordered WikkiTimes to publish a written apology and retraction on its website, in three national newspapers — including Daily Trust — and in two internationally circulating magazines. The court also mandated the immediate removal of the offending stories and images from the internet and directed the platform to “desist from issuing similar defamatory publications.”
WikkiTimes, through its lawyer, had denied the allegations, insisting that the report was based on a “thorough investigation” and aimed at exposing the security and mining-related crises in Niger State. The platform also denied altering any photographs or intentionally linking the plaintiffs to terrorism.
Despite the defence, the court ruled entirely in favour of the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs had originally sought ₦10 billion in damages and an additional ₦10 million as cost of action.
Pix: Court judgement.
