The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 election, Mr. Atiku Abubakar, has filed a N2.5 billion libel suit against the special adviser to the president on social media, Ms. Lauretta Onochie.
The suit, filed by the former Vice President through his lawyer, Mr. Mike Ozekhome, at a Federal High Court in Abuja, was sequel to Onochie’s alleged libelous tweet via her twitter handle on 7th and 20th May, 2019.
New Telegraph reports that the post allegedly suggested that Atiku was on the watch list of security operatives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and had travelled to shop for terrorists in the Middle East.
Sequel to the post, Atiku had, in a letter dated May 14, 2019, written through his lawyer, demanded an apology, retraction and payment of N500 million compensation from Onochie “to assuage” the damage done to his reputation.
The PDP chieftain also threatened to sue the president’s aide if she fails to accede to the demand within 48 hours.
However, in a statement of claims accompanying the suit, the Atiku alleged that rather than show “remorse by retracting her earlier publication,” Onochie further, on May 20, 2019 made “another derogatory publication and also published same globally online in the social and other print media” against his person.
The litigant denied the allegations contained in the said publication which he described as “a figment of the imagination of the defendant,” saying it portrayed him “as an evil man, mentor of terrorists, someone who has links with terrorists, and a person who is interested in destabilising the peace and unity of Nigeria.”
“The publication also portrayed the claimant as a security threat and terrorist to right thinking members of the public and the society at large.
“The odious publication has clearly rubbished the claimant’s image and reputation. It has caused him national and international backlash and embarrassment and has done incalculable damage to him.
“He has, thereby, been subjected to the shame and infamy of being viewed by members of the public as not only corrupt, but as a terrorist and sponsor of terrorism,” Atiku said.
He added that following the said publication, he received numerous telephone calls, emails, visits, letters and private social media chats by his family members, friends, political and business associates, and international statesmen and women, confirming “the alarm and serious concerns generated by the defendant’s false publication.”
The claimant said he would tender the call logs showing the text messages, and calls received by him in the aftermath of Onochie’s post.
“The inference and grave conclusions contained in the post were “politically orchestrated and invented by the defendant and others of her ilk, solely to cause maximum damage to the high reputation of the claimant, who is currently before the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal against her employer and boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, challenging the latter’s purported victory in the last presidential election.
“The claimant has neither ever been denied entry into, interrogated, nor been declared wanted by the UAE authorities, or any of its security agencies,” the statement of claims further stated.
Consequently, Atiku is a seeking a court’s declaration that the publications made by Onochie via her social media accounts on 7th and 20th May, 2019, concerning and touching on him “are utterly false, baseless, unfounded, defamatory and injurious to his reputation.”
He also sought an order compelling the defendant to make a retraction of, and an apology to him “for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications on the same platforms, also to be published in three national newspapers with wide circulation within the country and also broadcast on AIT, Channels and NTA television stations.
Atiku is also seeking an order compelling Onochie to write to him, “a letter of unreserved apology for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications.”
He is also seeking for an order directing the defendant to pay him “the sum of N2.5 billion as general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma” which the defendant’s publications have caused him.
