A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja sitting at Zuba has reserved judgment on a N500 million libel case filed by a former Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama against Ambassador Lilian Onoh.
The trial judge, Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya will also rule on a counterclaim filed by Ambassador Onoh against Mr Onyeama in which she is asking for N2 billion compensation against the former minister.
Onyema had sued Onoh, an ambassador in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is also a sister to his former wife, for libel, alleging that she defamed him in several memos she sent to then President Muhammadu Buhari while he was the minister.
The former minister asked Justice Keziah Ogbonnaya, to award him N500 million as compensation against Ambassador Onoh and two other defendants – Akelicious Media Company and Newswire Law and Event Magazine for, their alleged defamatory publications against him.
However, in the counterclaim, Onoh, who is the first defendant in the libel suit filed in 2023, urged the court to “impose a N2 billion” fine on Onyeama “for causing total upheaval and emotional trauma” to her by his “malicious suit.”
According to Ambassador Onoh, a former Nigerian ambassador to Namibia and Haiti, Mr Onyeama lodged the malicious suit as “part of his 40-year-vendetta to avenge his humiliation of being divorced by” her “sister due to unhinged psychiatric behaviour.”
Ambassador Onoh alleged large-scale stealing by staff members of the foreign service of funds belonging to Nigerian embassies and high commissions.
Adopting his final written arguments on Wednesday, 22 May, Onyeama’s lawyer, Agada Elachi (SAN) urged the court to impose N500 million damages against Onoh and other defendants – Akelicious Media Company and Newswire Law & Event Magazine – for “their defamatory publications against” his client.
The claimant also sought an order, “compelling the defendants” to apologise to him and “retract the defamatory words uttered” against him.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further uttering, writing defamatory words against the claimant.”
Elachi said, the former minister had discharged the burden of proof placed on him by providing credible evidence in substantiating his claims and further pointed out that the defendants failed woefully to raise a formidable defence to Onyeama’s claims.
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Mr Elachi dismissed the first defendant’s arguments challenging the propriety of the mode of service of court processes on the outside of her base in the United States and contended that Onoh’s contention that Mr Onyeama did not swear to the witness statement on oath that accompanied his suit has no legal basis.
The senior lawyer further said Onoh was precluded from questioning Onyeama’s identity because she did not tender any evidence to refute the former minister’s identity in the suit.
In the closing his arguments, Onoh’s lawyer, J.O Okpor, said the former minister failed to prove any defamatory words used against him by his client and wondered why Onyeama would seek to “gag the whole world from ever saying things against” him by “judicial sleight of hand.”
Okpor argued that Onoh who testified in the suit via Zoom from her residence at Texas in the US, “proved beyond reasonable doubt that” Onyeama had no legal basis in law for the suit he filed.
In the final written address, Okpor contended that the service of “an expired” court document on Onoh’s former lawyer in the case, “Richard Aneke, in September 2023, was unlawful” adding that, the order by the judge to serve Onoh court processes in court through her lawyer without any application by Onyeama was illegal.
The lawyer further said the judge’s refusal to determine the propriety of Onyeama’s libel suit until after final written addresses demonstrates the illegality that has trailed the adjudication of the matter.
Aside from the N2 billion compensation being sought by Onoh, she is also urging the court to refund all court fines she had paid as well as the “enormous cost of providing Zoom, which should have been provided by the court.
“The court is asked to grant the 1st defendant’s request for legal costs totalling N15 million, and personal costs of USD160,000 being the lost income incurred by her since July 2023 when she became seized with this malicious suit by the claimant,” Okpor prayed the court and urged the court to dismiss Onyeama’s suit and allow Onoh’s counterclaim.
Meanwhile, the other defendants in the case did not put up any legal representation during the hearing.
After listening to the lawyers’ arguments, the judge reserved judgment in the suit to a date that would be communicated to the parties.
