A Lagos High Court, sitting at Ikeja, yesterday, ordered that the court process in a N500 million defamation suit filed by the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, be served on the spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Olisa Metuh.
The court presided by Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye gave the order after listening to the claimant’s lawyer, Wahab Shittu. She ordered the service of all processes including the motion for interlocutory injunction on the defendant. Consequently, the matter has been adjourned to November 17 for report of service and/or the hearing of the pending applications for interlocutory injunction filed by the claimant.
It would be recalled that the APC spokesperson slammed a N500 million suit on Metuh over alleged defamation of his character and person. In the suit, Mohammed claimed to have been defamed by a press release allegedly authored and circulated on September 20 by Metuh.
He disclosed that the PDP spokesperson had in the statement accused him of embezzling funds meant for fencing an airport in one of the APC-controlled states in the South-West. He also claimed that Metuh accused him of diverting money he collected to supply ambulances to one APC-controlled state in the South-West.
Metuh had, in the statement, allegedly wondered where Mohammed got the courage to speak on corruption when indeed the APC spokesman had mastered the art of corruption having been “a personal aide to one of the most corrupt politicians to ever bestride the political space of the country.”
Credit: NigerianPilot