Atiku Files N2.5 billion Libel Suit Against President Buhari’s Aide

Atiku Files N2.5 billion Libel Suit Against President Buhari’s Aide

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to compel an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari to pay him N2.5 billion, following allegations of slander.

Mr Abubakar has also demanded a retraction of what he described as false information about him, disseminated by the media aide, Lauretta Onochie, on Twitter and Facebook.

According to documents of the suit filed June 26, Mr Abubakar also demanded an unreserved apology from Ms Onochie and a publication of her apology on three major media platforms in Nigeria.

According to the suit, Mr Abubakar accused Ms Onochie of alleging that he was on a watchlist of the United Arab Emirates in a Twitter post shared to the public in May.

He also recounted a similar post by Ms Onochie on Facebook, which suggested that the pro-Buhari media specialist was accusing Mr Abubakar and his loyalists of intimidating her.

Mr Abubakar, who cited quotes from the Facebook page, also asked the court to stop the defendant from making further publications considered denigrating his character.

He asked the court for the following orders:

“An order of this Honourable court compelling the Defendant to make a retraction of, and apology to, the Claimant, 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, consequent upon the untold embarrassment, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, derision, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s said defamatory twitter and facebook publications have caused the Claimant.

“An order of this Honourable court compelling the Defendant to write to the Claimant, a letter of unreserved apology for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications which were widely circulated vide the Defendant’s twitter/facebook handles and also published globally online on the social and other print media, consequent upon the embarrassment, ridicule, derision, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s said defamatory twitter and facebook publications have caused the Claimant.

“An order directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant, the sum of N2,500,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira) only, representing 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 the Claimant.