The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has dragged the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to court for defamation of character. Joined in the suit are the federal government through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and a publishing firm.
The media aide to the PDP National Chairman, Ike Abonyi, made this known in a statement on Friday. Mohammed had mentioned Secondus in the list of those who allegedly looted the nation’s treasury, alleging that the PDP National Chairman collected received N200million from the former National Security Adviser (NSA).
In his reaction, Secondus had through his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba, denied collecting any money from the former NSA. He had consequently asked the minister to immediately retract his name on the list and demanded a public apology and payment of N1.5b damages within 48 hours.
Having failed to meet the demand, Secondus on Friday filed a suit at the Port Harcourt High Court in Rivers State. In the suit no/PHC/1013/2018, he asked the court to award him the sum of N1.5b as damages for “humiliation, castigation, vilification attack on his person and integrity as a result of the publication.”
He also claimed that the list published by the minister was defamatory and urged the court to direct Mohammed to retract the said publication and apologise in writing. Secondus wants the retraction and apology to be published in all social media platforms and other media organisations where it was earlier publicised and broadcasted.
He further asked the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from further publishing defamatory materials against him. However, the minister and other respondents have yet to respond to the suit.
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