Obasanjo: Abuja Court Dismisses N1B Libel Suit Against Punch Newspaper, Columnist

…Awards N2M Each To Defendants

The Federal Capital Territory High Court has dismissed the N1 billion libel suit former President Olusegun Obasanjo filed against The Punch newspaper and Sonala Olumhense, a syndicated columnist, over an article they published on January 27, 2019.

The court also awarded N4 million, two million each to the two defendants as a cost against the Claimant (Obasanjo).

SaharaReporters reported on May 7, 2019, that the former President had sued the newspaper and the columnist over an article captioned: “This is the best contribution Obasanjo can make.”

In the article, Mr. Olumhense recalled previous articles he had written about the two-time Nigerian leader, explaining that because of Obasanjo’s “persistent efforts to distort Nigeria’s history and colour it in his own image,” he occasionally wrote to remind Nigerians “he is not the saint or patriot or doer he pretends to be.”

Following the article, Obasanjo sued the defendants, claiming one billion naira as general damages, describing the article as “false, malicious, unjustified, injurious, scornful, distasteful, unsavoury” and exposing him to “public odium, ridicule and disdain.”

Mr. Olumhense is also principally syndicated on Sundays by Daily Trust, but the Abuja-based newspaper was not joined in the suit.

In addition to riches, Obasanjo sought the retraction of the already published complaint in two national newspapers within three days of the judgement of the court, and an order to restrain the defendants and others from publishing the same or similar words.

When the case marked SUIT NO: FCT/HC/CV/962/2019, GENERAL OLUSEGUN OBASANJO (RTD) GCFR Vs. PUNCH NIGERIA LIMITED &ANOR. came up on Thursday, the Claimant’s counsel, Emmanuel Bisong Otinyia, Esq. informed the court that they had filed a notice of discontinuance to strike out the matter.

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He told the court that the reason was that the Claimant had forgiven the Defendants in the suit.

Responding, the Counsel for the 1st Defendant R.O. Adakole urged the Honourable Court to dismiss the suit instead of striking it out. The lawyer took the court on the journey of the case, informing it that the matter was before Senchi. J (Now Senchi. JCA). He added that pleadings had closed and a hearing had commenced before his Lordship was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

He cited the case of Gafari V. AGU & Ors (2002) LPELR 58887 CA, buttressing that when pleadings are closed and a matter is fixed for hearing, a notice of discontinuance at that stage is said to be invalid, and such notice should be struck out.

“The proper thing to do after the said notice of discontinuance is struck out is to dismiss the matter in its entirety,” he argued.

Resting his argument on the above authority and other authorities, the Counsel, thereafter, asked for a cost of N3 million against the Plaintiff, while urging the Court to dismiss the suit.

The Counsel for the 2nd Defendant, Samuel Ogala Esq. aligned himself with the argument of the 1st Defendant’s Counsel and also asked for a cost of N3 million. He added that should the court decide to strike out the suit instead of dismissing same, a bond of N50 million be placed before the suit can be refiled.

The Claimant’s counsel in reply to points of law cited Order 24 Rule 1 of the High Court Rules Of The FCT that withdrawal or dismissal of a suit is not a defence to a claim and therefore not conceding to cost.

After arguments, the court ruled, relying on the case of Gafari and Agu (supra) and other authorities that the proper thing to do at that stage of proceedings was to dismiss it.

The matter was consequently dismissed, and a cost of N2 million each was awarded to the 1st and 2nd Defendants.

SAHARA REPORTERS