N5bn suit: Edo APC chairman gets 48 hours to file defence as parties fail to settle out of court

Hearing in the N5 billion libel suit instituted against the Edo State chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Col David Imuse rtd, by a former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner for Akwa-Ibom, Mike Igini, continued on Monday as the two parties failed to reach an agreement for an out-of-court settlement.

At the resumption of the hearing, Mr Clement Onwuenwu SAN, counsel to Igini, told Justice Eboreime of Benin High Court Eight that an agreement for out-of-court settlement could not be reached owing to what he described as unsatisfactory terms offered by the first defendant.

He, therefore, urged the court to hear the suit as it was scheduled for hearing during the last court sitting.

Igini, it would be recalled, had sued Imuse and joined the African Newspapers of Nigeria PLC, publishers of the Tribune titles of Newspapers and The Sun Publishing Ltd, publishers of The Sun titles of Newspapers as co-defendants. 

Counsel to Imuse, Austin Osarenkhoe, had at the last hearing of the matter, requested for an adjournment to enable his client explore an out-of-court-settlement of the case, prompting the court to adjourn further hearing to September 26 for the continuation of the hearing or report of settlement. 

Onwuwuenor, SAN, told the court that since an agreement could not be reached as settlement broke down, he was ready to go on with his client. Justice Eboreimen thereafter recalled Igini to the witness box to continue with his evidence. 

Consequently, Imuse’s Counsel, Austin Osarenkhoe, continued cross-examination of Igini by referring him to paragraph 22 of his witness statement on oath and asked if he stopped over at Protea Hotel in Benin on August 24, 2020 for refreshments, where he met May Agbamuche on his way to Delta State, three weeks before September 19, 2020 Edo State governorship election.

Igini who confirmed running into Agbamuche who was his boss and who had lodged in the hotel, also agreed to another suggestion from Osarenkhoe that both the Tribune and Sun reporters called him to get his reactions to Imuse’s press conference and that his reactions to the text of the conference were published. 

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Similarly, counsel to ANN Plc, Mr Jarette Edema, and The Sun Publishing Ltd, Chief D. O Ogbodo, asked Igini if the newspapers got his reaction, and whether it was published, to which he answered in the affirmative.

Earlier, the court while ruling on a motion by Imuse’s counsel seeking for extension of time to file the second defendant’s statement of defence, granted him 48 hours to do so.

The court also awarded N50,000 costs against Imuse for failing to file his statement of defence on time despite the court earlier ordering him to do so.

Speaking to journalists later, Igini’s counsel, Clement Onwuwuenor, SAN, said negotiations for settlement out of court broke down because Imuse failed to offer a substantial proposal, but assured that his client was still open to a settlement out of court.