Court restrains Edo government, officers from defamation of Captain Okunbo

Justice Suleiman Belgore of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has issued a restraining order against the Edo State Government and its officers mandating them to stop from making further defamatory publications about business mogul, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo popularly known as Capt Hosa.

Capt Hosa, an elder citizen of Edo State, had filed through his counsel, Dr Adedapo Olanipekun, against the Attorney General of Edo State and Crusoe Osagie, the Special Adviser, Media and Communication Strategy to the Edo Governor.

In the suit, he had sought an order restraining the defendants, by themselves, agents, representatives, officers, servants, proxies, assigned trustees or any other person acting directly or indirectly for them, from publishing, causing to be published, circulating, further publishing, reporting or publicising the publication captioned ‘Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections.’

He had further asked the court to further restrain them from publishing any other related defamatory publication by any means whatsoever, including publications by/on print, electronic and social media platforms including publications.

The senior advocate had also sought a declaration that the defendants’ publications of July 20, 2020, captioned “Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,” which appeared on pages 26 and 53 respectively of The Punch and ThisDay newspapers were false, fabricated, misleading, malicious, unfair and defamatory.

He also sought for an order compelling the defendants to wholly retract or withdraw the publications of July 20, 2020, captioned: “Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,” which appeared on pages 26 and 53 respectively of The Punch and ThisDay newspapers, from The Punch, ThisDay and any other platform/newspaper same was published, describing the said publication as false, fabricated, misleading, malicious, unfair and defamatory.

Captain Hosa is further asking for the sum of N4,000,000,000 (Four billion naira) “being aggravated and exemplary damages for the embarrassment, inconvenience, losses and damages done to his person, character and interests as a result of the defendants’ libellous publications in addition to another N50,000,000 (Fifty million naira),” which he said is the assessed cost of legal representation and action.

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