The libel suit filed by a former Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu
Obanikoro, against some media organisations on Friday suffered a temporary
setback as court refused his application to restrain them from further
publications about him.
An Ikeja High Court refused Obanikoro’s request for an order of injunction
against an online news publication — Premium Times, Sahara Reporters and
the publisher, Mr Omoyele Sowore and the Punch Newspapers.
Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, in her ruling, described Obanikoro’s application
as lacking in merit.
She said:“There is nothing before the court that shows the applicant will
suffer more harm if the injunction is not granted.
“It is an error to seek to restrain a publisher of an article on the
grounds of libel if there is no proof before the court that such material
is libelous.
“I am persuaded that this application has no merit and an injunction is
not appropriate in the circumstance.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obanikoro had on Feb. 10,
2015, filed a suit after the defendants allegedly published an audio of
how Obanikoro with others purportedly plotted to rig the 2014 Ekiti
governorship polls.
On Feb. 5, Obanikoro filed an application for an interlocutory injunction
restraining the defendants from publishing “harmful materials’’ against
him pending the determination of the suit.
Obanikoro, in his application, had claimed that the defendants had
published “very damaging material’’ which made him to suffer various
“political and personal losses.
The former senator had also requested for an order of court compelling the
defendants to retract all the “damaging’’ news publications via a letter
of apology in their various media.
At Friday’s proceedings, Obanikoro was represented by a lawyer, Mr
Chukwudi Enebeli, while Punch Newspapers were represented by Mrs O.H.
Nurudeen.
Sahara Reporters, Premium Times and Sowore have not made appearances in
court since the case started.
The judge adjourned the case pending when the defendants would file their
replies to Obanikoro’s application.