Court restrains Edo government, officers from defamation of Captain Okunbo

Published by

5 years ago

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.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

N2.5trn Voted For Federal Roads In 20 Years
THE Federal Government has in the last 20 years allocated the sum of N2.542 trillion to construction and rehabilitation of federal roads, Tribune Online findings at the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, as well as the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, have revealed. The allocation was made during the administrations of four former leaders of the country; General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1999), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), Alhaji Umaru Yar’ Adua (2007-2010) and Dr Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015) and the current…

School Reopening: JAMB Meets Heads Of Tertiary Institutions On New Admission Date
THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) is considering a new date for the commencement of the 2020 admissions processes from the earlier announced date of 22nd August 2020. The Board would accordingly meet all the tertiary institutions on Monday, 10th August 2020, to brainstorm on the possibility of shifting…

MONDAY LINES: Let’s Close Schools Forever
This one that COVID death is killing kings and their horsemen, big men dropping in droves, what do you think will happen if coronavirus stays put till 2023? Will there be elections?” “Why won’t there be elections? Life is for the living. We will hold rallies. We will campaign, we will sing, dance and thoroughly abuse our opponents…