Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, has dragged an online publication, Pointblank News, before an Abuja High Court over allegation of libel.
In a copy of the Writ of Summon obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, the minister was seeking the sum of N50 billion aggravated and exemplary damages for alleged libel from the defendants.
The minister also asked the court to award another N50 billion general damages against the defendants for alleged libelous publications against him.
The defendants to the suit are Johnson Ude, publisher of the online media; and Uduma Mba, Editor of the medium.
In the summon, the minister said that the defendants exclusively published and widely circulated stories in their medium alleging his involvement in a purported N10 billion fraud scandal.
“The defendants made a publication described as ‘Exclusive Pointblanknews.com investigations’ and written under the very bold banner and title, ‘Lai Mohammed in N10 billion fraud scandal as ICPC swoops on NBC,” which was published on August 3, 2021.
“They published another one tagged as, ‘Lai Mohammed, NBC head for showdown over N10 billion fraud, Minister in hot deal with Interpol most wanted’ publishes on August 11, 2021.″
The minister contended that the said publications against him
were “untrue, malicious, unfounded and wicked,” adding that they were concocted to ridicule and bring his person to disrepute.
Mohammed said he had never been found wanting in character and reputation in all the private and public organisations he had served.
He stressed that the media house concocted the false stories to paint him in very bad light, defame him and injure his character and reputation.
The minister added that he suffered mental distress and serious injury to his feelings, stating that he instructed his solicitor, Kunle Jalejaye, (SAN), to write a letter dated August 5, 2021 to the defendants to retract the libelous stories.
Following the failure of the defendants to retract the publication, Mohammed approached the court to seek redress.
He also demanded a retraction of the publications and an apology to be published in three national newspapers (hard copy editions).
He also asked the court to order the two defendants to respectively write an undertaking to desist from further publication of the defamatory words against him.
NAN reports that the suit has yet to be assigned to a judge and no date has yet been fixed for mention.
(NAN).
