Atiku appears in court, signs N2.5bn libel suit against Buhari’s aide

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has appeared at the federal capital territory (FCT) high court in Maitama to sign his witness deposition in support of the N2.5 billion libel suit filed against Lauretta Onochie, an aide of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Atiku was accompanied by Mike Ozekhome, his legal counsel, and other members of his legal team.

In the suit which was filed in June 2019, Atiku is seeking the sum of N2.5bn from the presidential aide as ”general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages”.

“Atiku is claiming this sum from her for her defamatory story published on her twitter handle and facebook page, in which she stated that Atiku was on the UAE watch list,” Ozekhome said.

The reliefs sought by the former vice-president are: “An order of this honourable court compelling the defendant to make a retraction of, and apology to, the claimant, for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications on the same platforms, also to be published in three national newspapers with wide circulation within the country and also broadcast on AIT, Channels and NTA television stations, consequent upon the untold embarrassment, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, derision, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the defendant’s said defamatory twitter and facebook publications have caused the claimant.

“An order of this honourable court compelling the defendant to write to the claimant, a letter of unreserved apology for the said offensive twitter and facebook publications which were widely circulated vide the defendant’s twitter/facebook handles and also published globally online on the social and other print media, consequent upon the embarrassment, ridicule, derision, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s said defamatory twitter and facebook publications have caused the claimant.

“An order directing the defendant to pay to the claimant, the sum of N2,500,000,000,000.00 (two billion, five hundred million naira) only, representing general, aggravated, punitive and exemplary damages over the untold embarrassment, derision, public ridicule, odium, obloquy, marital disharmony, mental agony and psychological trauma which the Defendant’s publications have caused the claimant.