Ibrahim Lamorde, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has sued The Sun publishing limited, publishers of Daily Sun for libel, demanding damages in excess of N1 billion.
Through his lawyer, Festus Keyamo, the EFCC boss said he was suing the newspaper for its recently-published report titled ‘N1tr looted funds: Lamorde, EFCC boss in soup’.
In suit FCT/HC/M/10045/15 filed before the Abuja High Court on Monday, the plantiff said the defendant’s allegations as reported in the publication were “false and untrue”.
“The Defendants did not conduct any investigation into the truth of the allegations before publishing them. The Defendant did not offer the Plaintiff any opportunity to respond to the allegations before publishing them,” Keyamo said.
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He added that “by publishing the allegations in a sensational screaming headline, the defendant evinced the intention to malign the plaintiff and drag his reputation in the mud”.
Lamorde therefore requested that “the sum of one billion naira only being damages for the words published of and concerning the Plaintiff which are libellous” be paid by the newspaper.
He also demanded that a retraction and an unreserved apology be tendered by Daily Sun for the publication.
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The plantiff also demanded, among others, that the court give an order of “perpetual injunction restraining the newspaper, its agents, privies or servants from further publishing or causing to be published any libelous, injurious or defamatory words against the EFCC boss”.
The report, published on October 8, alleged that Lamorde continues to conceal the details of the unsold properties forfeited by both Tafa Balogun and Diepriye Alamieyeseigha despite receiving rent revenues from some estate agents on the said properties.
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