Ex-Nigerian ambassador sues Geoffrey Onyeama for defamation in US court

Lilian Onoh, a former Nigerian ambassador to Namibia and head of mission in Jamaica, has sued Geoffrey Onyeama, immediate past minister of foreign affairs, for defamation in a court in Texas, US.

Also listed as a defendant in the suit is Gabriel Aduda, a former permanent secretary in the ministry of foreign affairs.

The suit, with case number 3:2023cv022838, was filed through Onoh’s lawyer, Steven Thornton, on December 22.

Thornton said an online platform in April, published an article saying Onoh was sacked by the Nigerian government on account of misappropriation of N50 million meant for the running of Nigeria’s high commission in Namibia.

Thornton noted that the online paper published Onoh’s photograph in the story, to ensure the object of the story was not mistaken.

The lawyer said statements and claims credited to Aduda and Onyeama were the basis of the story. 

“The reason for their making false statements about Ms Onoh was to discredit her following her reporting of corruption,” Thornton said.

“Specifically, as an Ambassador, Ms Onoh had reported multiple incidents of embezzlement of millions of U.S. Dollars and billions of naira of Nigerian government funds by various Nigerian officials,” the court document reads.

“Further, she reported the embezzlement of $2.8 million in Red Cross funds meant for Haiti earthquake victims as well as the egregious acts of visa racketeering against the USA and other countries in which her successor in Jamaica had engaged.

“Ms. Onoh was never terminated from any posting with the Nigerian government for misappropriation of funds.”

The plaintiff is praying the court for “all such other and further relief at law and in equity to which Ms. Onoh may show herself to be justly entitled”.

Similarly, Onyeama had sued Onoh, who is also the sister of his ex-wife, for making libellous remarks against him, in Abuja.