An FCT High Court has adjourned the libel suit by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, against an aide to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie.
Justice Chizoba Orji on Wednesday adjourned the suit for a definite hearing due to the absence of the lead counsel to Onochie, U.O. Sule (SAN).
Atiku’s counsel, Dr Okey Ezugwu and S.E. Maliki had demanded a cost of N1 million over the absence.
This followed a plea by a lawyer in the firm of Sule, C.O. Ogbodo Esq, who arrived late to the proceeding, and pleaded for an adjournment because the senior lawyer in the matter was already out of town in Sokoto for another matter.
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Atiku in December 2019 filed a N2.5 billion libel suit against Onochie, who was Buhari’s Special Assistant on Social Media, seeking general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over a social media post.
Onochie had in the post on X, then twitter, alleged that Atiku was on the security operatives’ watch list in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for alleged terrorism shopping.
Atiku had, through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), demanded an apology, a retraction of the said post and a payment of N500 million compensation to him “To assuage” the damage and embarrassment he suffered as a result of the post.
In his statement of claim, Atiku stated that rather than show remorse by retracting her earlier publication, Onochie further, on May 20, made another derogatory publication and also published the same online in the social and other print media.
Atiku averred that the publications caused him untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma.
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