‘Looters list’: Secondus wins defamation case against FG, gets N20m award

A Rivers State High Court on Thursday found the Federal Government and the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammad, guilty of defamation against the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus.

The court presided over by the state Chief Judge, Hon. Justice A. I. Iyayi-Lamikanra, said that the claimant’s case succeeds and the defendants are jointly and severally liable for the libelous publication made against the claimant.

The court further directed the Federal Government and Alhaji Mohammad to publish a written apology in favour of Prince Secondus in the newspaper of the third defendant.

He also granted an order of injunction restraining the defendants “whether by themselves, agents or privies from further publishing defamatory statements against the claimant.”

The judge further ruled that the defendants shall pay the sum of 20 Million Naira to the claimant as damages.

The Minister of Information and Culture had in March 2018 published a list of some Nigerians he claimed looted the country and included Prince Secondus as one of them.

Secondus consequently filed a suit in court PHC/1013/2018 claiming that Lai Mohammad’s publication was defamatory and he asked the court to direct him to retract the said publication and apologise in writing.

Secondus had earlier through his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba SAN, written to the Minister seeking immediate retraction of his name and payment of N1.5b damages within 72 hours failure of which the claimant by a writ of summons filed this suit on April 6, 2018 for the following claims:

* A declaration that the publication made by the Defendants against the Claimant (the subject matter of this suit) is defamatory

* An order of this Honourable Court directing the Defendants to retract the said publication and apologize in writing to the Claimant for the Defamatory publication.

* An order of this Honourable Court directing the Defendants to publish the retraction and the written apology in all the News and Social Media including but not limited to The Nation Newspaper, ThisDay Newspaper, Sun Newspaper, Guardian Newspaper, Punch Newspaper, Nigerian Television Authority, Channels Television, amongst others where the defamatory materials were published.

* An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants’ their Agents and privies from further publishing the Defamatory publication against the Claimant.

* Damages for the sum of N1,500,000,000.00 (One Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira ) only by the Defendants to the Claimant being general damages for humiliation, castigation, verification, attack of his person and integrity by the defamatory publication.

* And for such further or order or other orders as this Honourable Court may seem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.

Messers Echezona C. Etiaba, SAN, N. J. Asoh, Esq., E. S. Aluzu, Esq., R. C. Keneboh, Esq. and F. E. Obiosio, Esq. appeared for Prince Secondus while D.L. Inko-Tariah, Esq. appeared the Federal Government and Mohammad from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Chinedu Udemba, Esq. holding the brief of Victor C. Nwaugo, Esq., appeared for the third defendants, namely, The Nation and ThisDay.