The Upper Area Court No. 7 in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Wednesday dismissed a criminal case against media executive and publisher Gabriel Olayinka. This was over an alleged ₦300 million breach of trust.
Mr Olayinka is the CEO of SUM TV and the publisher of Taraba News, a media outfit in Taraba State.
He is also the first chairman of the Taraba News/SUM TV Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
The case was brought by Danladi Jibrin, who accused Mr Olayinka of criminal breach of trust and cheating regarding a financial deal involving ₦300 million. Mr Olayinka denied the allegations.
His lawyer, L.L. Tadok from P.D. Pius & Co. Chambers, filed an objection challenging the court's power to handle the case. The defence claimed that this issue was civil and pointed out that the case had initially been filed in a chief magistrate’s court.
The complainant's lawyer, D.G. Tukura, agreed with the objection about the court's authority during the proceedings on Wednesday.
In his ruling, Judge Lawan Jika supported the objection and dismissed the case because the court lacked jurisdiction.
The judge then freed Mr Olayinka from the case in the Upper Area Court. This matter had gained public attention after Mr Olayinka spent months in detention.
Previous court orders had directed banks to provide financial records related to Taraba Business School, which is linked to him.
Mr Olayinka has more to his media career than just publishing. When the Taraba News/SUM TV Chapel was launched in 2025, the NUJ Taraba State Council called him a professional accountant who later moved into journalism and media management.
The court's decision does not mean he is cleared of the accusations. It simply means the criminal case ended because the court found it did not have the power to take on the matter.
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