Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPoB), has slammed N20 billion libel suit against Mr. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an ACP assistant commissioner of police and the spokesperson for the Nigerian police force.
Chief Aloy Ejimakor, Kanu’s primary attorney, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the IPoB leader at the Federal Capital Territory’s High Court on Tuesday.
The lawsuit claims that when media outlets published a news release from Adejobi on January 25 describing IPOB as “a proscribed terrorist organization,” Kanu accused the Police image maker of defaming him and depicting him as a terrorist commander.
The article titled, “Imo: Police neutralise six IPOB/ESN terrorists, recover arms; further read, ’Operatives of the Imo Police Command’s tactical unit have neutralized three notorious kingpins of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), an armed wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
“The Force Public Relations Officer, Force Headquarters, Abuja, ACP Olummiwa Adejobi, disclosed in a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday in Owerri.
“Adejobi said following credible intelligence, the police operatives located and launched a coordinated operation on the terrorists’ hideout in a forest within Ihube in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state on January 24.”
“The Force PRO said five AK-47 rifles, 552 rounds of live ammunition, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), several communication equipment, along eight operational motorcycles used by the group, were recovered from the scene.
“According to him, prior investigations had revealed the involvement of the group in several high-profile crimes, including the attack on the Owerri Correctional Centre on April 5, 2021.
Adejobi also alluded to the destruction of Arondizuogu Police Station on February 8, 2022, and the murder of five police officers in Umunna, Okigwe, in December 2022, all of which were carried out by the eliminated terrorists.
In his lawsuit, Kanu, meanwhile, claimed that his brother and his circle of friends in Abuja and throughout Nigeria read defamatory statements that were false and constitute a grave libel on his person, as the words in their natural and ordinary meaning portrayed him “as a gang leader and terrorist.”
As an associate of violent criminals and terrorists who allegedly engaged in terrorist acts in Imo State; an irresponsible and violent person that has no regard for the sanctity of human lives; and a person who does not deserve justice in his cases pending in court, bordering on whether the IPOB is a terrorist group or not, the IPoB leader further claimed the statement painted him in.
Kanu added that, “The said words in their natural and ordinary meaning were meant and were understood to mean that the Claimant is a leader of a terrorist movement that is to be vicariously blamed for alleged acts of terrorism in Imo State”.
The IPoB leader has also asserted,“That the words were meant to call into question the Claimant’s honesty, personal integrity and reputation; that the Claimant states that these defamatory and libelous statements go far beyond fair comment and are malicious and are designed specifically to impugn his person and character and they were made in bad faith.”
The lawsuit further stated, “That the Defendant’s libelous publications and utterances were circulated and read by millions of people around the world, particularly in Abuja and Nigeria where the Claimant has many friends, family, colleagues, admirers, mentees, well-wishers and millions of followers and cases pending in court in which terrorism is at issue.
“That the Defendant’s libellous publications and utterances have seriously injured the Claimant’s character, credit, reputation and integrity; and resulted in significant prejudice against the Claimant regarding his cases pending in Court in Abuja and
elsewhere in Nigeria.”
Therefore, Kanu sought an order from the court “directing the Defendant to retract the said publications through another publication through the same media by way of issuance of another press statement.”
Other prayers by Kanu include,” An order of the court directing the Defendant to write and deliver to the Claimant, an unreserved letter of apology. The letter of apology shall be prominently and boldly published full-page in three (3) national dailies, namely: the SUN, Daily Trust and Vanguard.
He also sought “AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant from further and forever uttering the said defamatory and libelous words about or concerning the Claimant.”
Along with that, the IPoB leader asked the court to issue an order “directing the Defendant to pay to the Claimant the sum of N20,000,000,000.00 (Twenty Billion Naira only) being general and exemplary damages.”