SAN FRANCISCO, June 29, (THEWILL) – An Ilorin High Court judge has slammed a N4 billion judgment against the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, over series of stories published last year by the medium against Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.
Saraki had through his lawyer, Babatunde Olomu, asked for the intervention of the court following the publication of series of libellous stories against him by Sahara Reporters between September and December 2015.
Both Sowore and Sahara Reporters were joined as defendants in the suit marked as KWS/23/2017 but the defendants refused to defend the case despite the service of the summons on them.
Olomi, speaking with newsmen, revealed that the first series of service involved an arrangement between the office of the Nigerian ministry of Justice and their counterpart in New York, the operational base of Sahara Reporters.
When that failed, he said the claimant thereafter seized the opportunities of a visit to Nigeria by Sowore to serve him the court summons at his two properties in Ikeja area of Lagos state.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Adeyinka Oyinloye granted all the reliefs sought by the claimant in the case which are as follows:
“The sum of N1 billion as general and aggravated damages for libellous words falsely, maliciously and recklessly published by the defendants of and concerning the claimant in the online issue of Sahara Reporters of October 5, 2015 under the caption ‘Nigeria at 55: Bukola Saraki and 83 Inmates Are Running the Asylum’.
“The sum of N1 billion as general and aggravated damages for libellous words falsely, maliciously and recklessly published by the defendants of and concerning the claimant in the online issue of Sahara Reporters of Sahara Reporters of September 20, 2015 under the caption: ‘A polished Name for political immorality. Time for Saraki to Go!’
“The sum of N1 billion as general and aggravated damages for libellous words falsely, maliciously and recklessly published by the defendants of and concerning the claimant in the online issue of Sahara Reporters of Sahara Reporters of November 09, 2015 under the caption: ‘Bukola Saraki On a shopping Spree to Buy Judges… Stop Being a Clown And A Coward Man Up, face The Music’
“The sum of N1 billion as general and aggravated damages for libellous words falsely, maliciously and recklessly published by the defendants of and concerning the claimant in the online issue of Sahara Reporters of Sahara Reporters of December 1, 2015 under the caption: ‘Arms Contract Scandal: Senator Saraki Blackmailed CBN Officials To Pay N250 Million Hush Funds’.
“An order for injunction restraining the defendants from further writing, printing or causing to be written, printed or circulated or otherwise published of the claimant the said, or similar libel.
“An order directing the defendants to remove the offending publications from its website on the internet within three days from the date of judgment and an order directing the defendants to publish an apology to the claimant on its online newspaper and in three other daily newspapers.”
