Get Guardian on GoogleKaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai, has filed a N2b suit against former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, human rights activist, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and others for alleged character defamation.
In the separate suits filed by his lawyer, A.U. Mustapha (SAN) at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, El Rufai also joined a national newspaper, Daniel Elombah, Elombah Communications, Joseph Onu and Auta Nyada, as defendants.
In the suit against Omokri, El Rufai argued the statements in his publication titled: El Rufai’s E-mail Saying Southern Women Youth Corps Members Are Seen As Whores, published on June 14, 2020, was injurious to his reputation.
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He added that the publication was malicious, unwarranted and defamatory, and consequently demanded the sum of N500m in compensation and an apology published in national dailies.
In the suit against Odinkalu, Daniel Elombah and Elombah Communications, El Rufai contended that the publication titled, ‘Litany of 25 critics who have suffered at El Rufai’s hands, compiled by Chidi Odinkalu’ and published in Elombah.com on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 was malicious, unlawful and without justification.
He also demanded the sum of N500m for the damage and an apology for the defamation and damage to his reputation.
El Rufai also said the letter written by Joseph Onu on August 19, 2020 and titled: Request To Withdraw The Offer Of Platform At The 2020 Annual General Conference of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and addressed to Prof. Koyinsola Ajayi (SAN) as Chairman, Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) of NBA and copied to Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Chairman, Board of Trustees and President of the association, Olumide Akpata, as published in the media, was defamatory and injurious to his reputation.
El Rufai is also demanding an apology and the sum of N500m compensation.
No date has been fixed for the hearing.
The Guardian recalled that El-Rufai was to have attended the NBA Annual General Conference held earlier in the year as speaker, but was stopped from attending the conference in controversial circumstances.
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