Alleged defamation: Court grants National Theatre staff’s one-week request to seek forgiveness

A Magistrate Court in Apapa, Lagos State, has granted the prayer of a level 14 officer of the National Theatre, Ephesian Nodza, seeking one-week leave to plead with the claimant over alleged defamation.

Ephesian is standing trial for conspiracy, defamation and sponsorship of false and malicious publications against a Lagos-based traditional ruler, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye.

At the resumed trial, Ephesian told the court that he would like to resolve the legal issue without going to trial.

He therefore offered the claimant the sum of N200,000 as a form of financial compensation to dissuade him from going to trial.

Ephesian also pleaded with the court to grant him one week’s leave to enable him to seek forgiveness from the claimant for the allegations levelled against him.

Responding to the offer, the claimant, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye, rejected his offer of N200,000 on the ground that he had spent a fortune to prosecute the case while also lamenting that his reputation was dented by the sponsored publications.

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Kalejaiye told the court that the defendant could either N7 million as financial compensation or no deal.

“I will rather go to trial than to accept his financial offer of N200,000. I have spent a lot of money to prosecute this case. I have suffered a lot by way of my reputation being damaged in the media and before the public not to talk of the amount of business deals I have lost consequent to the malicious publications.

“Your honour, as much as I’m willing to discontinue this legal issue, I’m demanding the sum of N7 million as compensation for the damages done to my reputation. My lord, it’s either this or no deal,” Kalejaiye told the court.

Ruling on the matter, Chief Magistrate Olanrewaju Olatunji, consented to the one-week request by the defendant to plead with the claimant.

He therefore adjourned the matter till May 28 for the commencement of trial.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mike Enejere, had told the court that Ephesian committed the offence for which he is being tried on April 9, 2023, at the National Theatre, Lagos.

He added that the offence is punishable under section 95 (1) (b) of the criminal law of Lagos State of 2015.