Libel: Court Orders Blogger, Linda Ikeji To Pay N30 Million To Neo Black Movement
The Delta High Court in Effurun has ordered a foremost blogger, Linda Ikeji, to pay the sum of N30 million as general damaged to the Neo Black Movement (NBM) of Africa for libelous publication.
The NBM and three others had slammed a N1 billion law suit against Ikeji for defamation and libel.
The lawsuit had the Registered Trustees of NBM of Africa, Ese Kakor, Felix Kupa and Mayor Onyebueke as the claimants.
Delivering judgment today, April 29, Justice Roli Daibo-Harriman, also awarded N300,000 being cost of litigations against the blogger
The court also ordered Ikeji to place a publication in her blog and national dailies retracting the libelous publication complained about.
The judge ordered Ikeji to restrain from making further damaging publications against the Claimants and members of the NBM of Africa.
In her judgment, Justice Daibo-Harriman described the words “dreaded cultist group, black axe, criminal organusation and others” as used by the defendant in her publication as all defamatory.
The blogger, in her publication of October 19, 2021, allegedly referred to NBM of Africa as dreaded cult group, black axe, criminal organisation and other names.
Consequently, the claimants prayed the court for an award of N1 billion only and an unreserved apology to be published in her blog and two national newspapers and among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defendant was not present in court neither was she represented.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the court’s proceedings, lead counsel to the claimants, Kelvin Agbroko said that it was a well deserved judgment.
“This will serve as lesson to bloggers that it is not every item you published. It is good to verify information before making a publication.
“NBM of Africa is a legal organisation duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
“The publication made by the defendant against my client has been cleared that is was a damaging publication.
“NBM is good to go, we are going to take all necessary steps to enforce the terms of the judgement against her.
“It was an erudite judgment that is all encompassing and will be difficult to fault.”
Also responding to the judgement the President of NBM of Africa, Ese Kakor said that the case had been on for about two years.
He said that the judgment was a warning to bloggers and other members of the public not to call people or organisations names that were not ascribed to them in a bid to blackmail or defamed their characters.
“What Ikeji did was just to sell in a bid to defame the character of NBM of Africa, it is very wrong.
“I advised other blogger not to follow same steps as they may also face similar litigation.
“Do not try and defame people’s character. NBM has nothing to do with cultism, black axe. It is not a criminal organisation but a registered organisation.”
Kakor, however, advised the public to be law abiding and do things within the ambits of the law.
Buhari said that Sidi Ali was a creative writer who “won my admiration when he wrote an excellent book chronicling my war against the twin evils of corruption and indiscipline as Military Head of State and followed up with another publication on my accomplishments as an elected civilian president.”
Between EFCC And Ex Gov. Yahaya Bello: Common Sense And The Law, By Yusuf Ozi-Usman
One funny thing about Nigerians is the fact that most of them are highly emotional and sentimental when it comes to public discourse on any national issue. Their idea of democracy is strewn around what they choose to believe, and worse, would want everyone to accept their beliefs. They would go to any length to paint those who hold contrary views black in a clear abuse of democratic norms and practices..
Like the WhatsApp group I belong to; a seemingly intellectual group where almost everyone condemn the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, accusing him of being a thief, based on the words of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).
Even as intellectually based as the group is (mainly veteran journalists and legal practitioners, administrators, etc), my attempt to retionalise the circumstances of the issues at stake between the two combatants was attacked and I was branded “blackleg.”
One of them even said that I was supporting Yahaya Bello because he had bribed me with “Ghana-must-go” (huge amount of money).
We have been following the hide-and-seek game which Yahaya Bello and EFCC have been playing in the past couple of weeks. Of course, no one disputes the fact that being a Governor for eight years, Yahaya Bello has questions to answer on the issue of propriety and otherwise of his government.
Though, while the issue in discourse bothers on propriety and otherwise of it, the methodology rolled out by the EFCC to address it or to enforce it looks suspect, from the point of view of it’s ordinary. The legal part of it may be far different.
On the ordinary part of it, the following points present themselves for the impartial analysts to decipher:
1. EFCC first charged Yahaya Bello and others for money laundering amounting to over $80 billion, allegedly committed sometime in 2015, before he assumed office as Governor in 2016. Everybody knows that Yahaya Bello was into transport and estate businesses before he became governor, and was therefore dealing in currencies, whether legitimately or otherwise.
2. EFCC later changed the date to 2016, obviously to fit into the arrangement to rope in the former Governor.
3. Suddenly, EFCC came up with another charge last week that Yahaya Bello stole over $800,000 to pay his children school fees
4. That the school fees were paid by one Ali Bello, not Yahaya Bello (this one has serious legal implications). There doesn’t seem to be enough evidence that the money was from the coffers of Kogi state government.
5. The current governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has since said that there’s no money missing in the government pulse.
6. The question is: “Is Yahaya Bello, who was alleged to have laundered billion of dollars in 2015 or 2016 now so poor that he could not afford mere $800,000 to pay his children school fees?
As a matter of fact, if it is proved that what the former Governor for eight years stole was $800,000, I will personally flog him (if I have my way) for being so naive even in stealing. How would he steal such a paltry amount when a female minister who was barely four months in office stole billions of dollars? When other Governors are sending their children to foreign countries where they pay billions of dollars as school fees? When others are sending their girlfriends to overseas for holidays with billion of dollars within weeks?
I was flowing with EFCC before they began to change goal poles, creating a clear picture of witch-hunting to bring down Yahaya Bello by ALL means.
I want to make it clear that Yahaya Bello does not know me from Adam. We have never met one-on-one and I’m not begging the issue here.
However, I am not in anyway quarreling with those who simply want to crusify him for one reason or the other.
However, as a public commentator, I have my democratic and fundamental human right not to follow the bandwagon of Yahaya Bello’s haters, and doing so without being seen as blackleg and or beneficiary of any kind of largesse…except if we want to turn all Nigerians into one lane of the road.