A Rivers State High Court, Monday, restrained the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed from further mentioning of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, in the recently released looters list.
Presiding Judge, Justice I. A. Iyayi-Lamikanta, granted the order in a motion filed by Prince Secondus seeking interlocutory injunction to restrain the defendants from further publishing the libelous content.
Secondus, the PDP chairman, is suing Lai Mohammed along with Nigerian Government and Vintage Press, in Suit PHC/1013/2018, for N1.5Billion as damages for alleged libel of the PDP chairman when his name was listed as a looter, alleging he collected N200m on 19 February 2015 from the office of the then National Security Adviser.
Neither the defendants nor their counsels were present at the hearing before the Judge adjourned the matter till April 28, but Plaintiff’s counsel, Emeka Etiaba SAN believes all parties will be present in court at the next date so the court can hear the merits of the case.
Etiaba told newsmen shortly after the court session that, “There is no truth in what they (defendants) published, so I can understand why they are not in court, but by the time the restraining order comes, maybe they will take us more seriously.
“But we have told Nigerians this is one case of executive recklessness which comes up once in a while. We hope at the end of the day, we prove to Nigerians that this is nothing but a gimmick, a ploy to destroy the PDP and its leadership because of the 2019 elections.”