Rights activist sues Sowore, others for alleged criminal defamation

A human rights activist, KeneChukwu Okeke, has instituted a criminal defamation suit at the FCT Chief Magistrates’ Court, Kubwa, Abuja, against Vanguard Newspapers including its reporter Onozure Dania, Omoyele Sowore, Sahara Reporters Limited, Sahara Reporters Media Foundation, and Chukwuemeka Clement, a former Chairman of Bwari branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.

The newspapers had, on March 9, 2021, reported that the human rights activist is a fake lawyer impersonating in re: FCT/HC/BW/M/545/2020 currently pending at the FCT High Court, Kubwa, and other cases pending in different courts across, Nigeria including the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. It was further reported that the NBA would be prosecuting Mr. Kenechukwu Okeke for impersonation.

The human rights activist considered the publication of March 8, and March 9, 2021 as defamatory, injurious, false, malicious, unjustified and harmful, and as such, punishable under Section 392 of the Penal Code Act.

According to the defamatory report, the criminal defendants wrote: “The counsel further informed the court that by an official letter filed by the NBA, the chairman of Abuja capital that the purported first defendant in the case, Okeke, who has been filing different court processes all over Nigeria, was actually not a lawyer. The NBA said Okeke was not called to the bar and the NBA would further take legal and prosecutorial steps against him in the case.”

In the criminal charge marked CR/345/2021, KeneChukwu Okeke complained to the Magistrate that the publication was intended to lower his estimation before right-thinking members of the society and to expose him to hatred, contempt and ridicule.

The litigant is expected to lead prosecution in the case, having laid the foundation and tendered computer-generated evidence before the court. However, no date has been fixed for the case.